Dancing Dandy
by KayMist
Summary: It's always fun to shake things up in your life. Keeps you on your toes. Specially when you've got the oddest traveling companion around. Let's see how this ends. Or so the small sharp woman and period dressed ghoul thought of each other.
1. Chapter 1

"How in the world are neon signs still intact?" Fay pushed her glasses up higher on her nose and followed the bright curves of the glass with her eyes. Of all the things to contemplate in this new turn of events, it was over the delicate, gas filled, flickering sign that buzzed above. Goodneighbor in blue and pink, like it was some nice little diner. Soon her thoughts were on food and her stomach gave a loud growl. Best to just go inside and get it over with.

"Ah, fuckin' 'ell, will you just go inside, you idiot?" Cait growled and pushed past her to throw the peeling warped door. "Damn prewar pansies, waiting around to get shived." The red head looked back and impatiently gestured for her to come in. Fay just frowned and stomped past.

At first glance, the town looked rather well kept. Little debris, no corpses strewn about, wanderers that actually look partially fed, if still fairly...high as a kite. She glanced between the two store fronts and perked up. They were both manned by some very interesting individuals. A robot and a ghoul! Fay grinned and started towards the general store, mentally making a list of questions to ask the petite ghoul behind the counter.

Before she could get too close though, a grimy man in ripped leathers stepped in front of her and grinned. "Hey there, girlie. Welcome to Goodneighbor."

The tone of his voice put steel in her spine and she frowned up at him. "Hello. Is there something you needed?" she asked, resting her hand on the freshly acquired power fist latched to her hip.

The wind picked up and blew his stench into her face as he leaned down a bit. "It's more what you need from me. Now, you're new to this place. I just wanted to offer you up some insurance." He lit a cigarette and blew some smoke. "Wouldn't want your pretty little face getting marked up, now would you?"

"This pretty little face can take care of itself," she said, settling back onto her heels. This shit gave her the creeps but it's not something she couldn't handle. Fay slammed the heel of her hand into his chest and pushed him back a step or two.

"That was a bad idea, bitch," he growled and threw his fresh cigarette to the ground. "Give me everything you've got and maybe I won't have you gutted. Or better yet, I could always have you pay me in other ways. Considering your get up, you're begging for a cock."

As he reached a hand out to her, she snorted and grabbed his wrist, pulling it back to the tendons limit. "You're funny. What's your name?" she asked over his yell of pain.

"F-Finn! Let go!"

"Tsk tsk. No can do, Finn." He let out more cries of pain as she slowly twisted his wrist back more. "Now, is this any way to treat a lady? You should be giving me your arm and a nice tour of the place. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry!" he shrieked, lowering to his knees as she pulled his whole arm into a lock.

Cait scoffed and pushed herself away from her seat against the wall. "Just teach him a lesson already, Fay. I want to get some grub."

Fay glanced at the red head and sighed. "I suppose you're right. Though I doubt it will be enough to keep him from doing this again." Finn whimpered out soft pleas from the ground. With a quick twist, she snapped his wrist. Of course the man screamed, but she just shoved him to the side. "Maybe next time, you should take the name of your town to heart. Be a good neighbor."

The sound of clapping caught her attention and she glanced up to see a ghoul in a bright red revolutionary style coat walking up to her as he applauded. More ghouls. This place seemed to be full of them. She straightened up, adjusted her glasses, and met him half way. "I like your style, sister. Sorry about the less then stellar welcome," said the ghoul, offering a hand and a grin. Now it was easy to see he was a man from the broad shoulders and deep voice. Fay took his hand and gave it a shake, noticing how his eyes widened a bit and the grin slipped from his face.

"With the few weeks I've been out here, I'm not surprised. That was one of the more tame hellos, to be perfectly honest." He was slow to let go of her hand and goosebumps rose on her arms as his palm rubbed along her own. The texture of his hand was a bit different from the last ghoul she had shook hands with. Neither had been bad. Different for sure, but this… Fay shifted her shoulders a bit and tried to stand up straighter.

"A few weeks, you say?" His eyes locked onto her Pipboy and he gave a chuckle. "Vault girl. That explains it. Well, let me say properly. Welcome to Goodneighbor. Name's Hancock and I'm mayor around here. Now allow me to give you that tour you mentioned earlier." Before she could reply, he took her arm, threaded it through his and lead her away from the store fronts and to an alley along the side. A tall woman in armor straightened up as they approached. "Take care of him for me, Far. I've warned him and now it's time for some action," he told her and jerked his chin towards Finn who was getting up. The woman nodded and strode over to grab him.

Fay watched until Hancock started walking her away, pulling her along with him. "Not to sound rude or anything, but what are you going to do with him," she asked, looking up at the nose less man.

"What a good mayor should do. Get ride of the trash." A frown found it's way to her face as she realized what he meant. They were going to kill him. Not that she wouldn't have done the same thing if he'd pushed her. The laws, now old and nonexistent these days, were burned into her heart. It felt wrong. "I was about to take care of him myself but it was much nicer to see your little show there. I don't think I've seen someone move quite that fast before." He met her gaze and gave a half grin. For all the scarring, discoloration, and missing nose, he was quite good looking. It brought a warmth to her face and she looked away and ahead.

"I keep forgetting that the people here deal with crimes more...harshly and a lot quicker," she said, pulled on the braid that fell over her shoulder with her free hand.

They stopped in front of a large white building and Hancock patted the wall affectionately. "This here is my place. It's open at all hours to everyone. Plenty of beds with anyone that can't afford a place at Rexford. And of course, yours truly is up at the top ready to help out when I can."

Before he could continue, Cait strode up and thrust her hand out at Fay. "Oi, boss. Before you get too chummy with the peeler, I need a cut so I can get a fix."

The shorter women pursed her lips. "You need to cut that stuff, Cait."

"We've already went over this. Don't give me shite. Just give me my fucking cut."

Fay sighed and slipped her arm from Hancock's to dig in her pack. She pulled out a few packs of mentats, a syringe of psycho, a puffer of jet and some caps and dropped them into the open hand. "Sell the mentats to get some food. Meet me at whatever hotel there is around here when you're done." Cait nodded and took off.

"You uh, don't like chems?" His gruff voice pulled her back to the man beside her. His face was set hard and his whole posture stiff.

"No, it's not that," she replied and shouldered her pack again. "Cait just gets very hard to be around when she does anything. Aggressive, tries to fight anything nearby, including me." A sigh escaped her as she rubbed her eyes under her glasses. "Now, shall we continue this tour?"

Hancock tipped his hat back as he continued to stare at her with a straight and rather intimating face. Fay felt her face grow warm and straightened up. What was his problem? Did she have something on her face or was it the chem comment? After almost a solid 20 seconds she scoffed and turned to find her own way around but he finally spoke. "You are one odd human, sister."

"Yeah, well, you aren't so normal yourself with you revolutionary get up and missing nose," she bit back, taking another step back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to find a place to stay and get something to eat." And with that, she turned around started off towards the other end of the alleyway.

"Woah woah, hold on now." She jerked to a stop as he grabbed her pack and pulled her backwards towards him again. "I didn't mean to disrespect, doll. You can't blame me to lookin' a bit at the nicer things around me," the ghoul said as he flipped her around and put an arm over her shoulders. "And it seems to me like you need to relax. Let me help ya out."

Tension once again set her shoulders. This guy was really grabby, but he was offering help. Plus it would be good to get the in with the local "authorities" per say. This Hancock obviously had all the connections. Fay looked up at him again, finding that easy half grin on his face again and she returned it with a small smile of her own. "You know, that sounds pretty good. I'm sure you have a place to get boozed."

"Right around the corner. It'll be on me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Note - I suppose I should have left a note on the last chapter but I didn't think about it! This is the first thing I've written in years. So if you find anything that is wrong please tell me. I'm hoping to have the chapters longer each time I put a new one out once I get my writing muscles in shape! Thanks for the follows and reviews so far!**

* * *

Live music! The warm and coy tones of a woman's voice filled the whole place over the chatter of the patrons, lighting a mix of dull sparsely placed bulbs. The whole place had a nice hole in the wall club feel. Fay grinned as she took a bar stool and stowed her pack under her feet. This place was great. She'd have to come here for a drink whenever they passed. Lord knows she could only take the repeated songs on the radio for so long. Fresh new live music was impossible to come by with all the violence of the world. Hancock swung into the seat beside her and slapped both hands on the counter.

"Whitechapel, my man! Get a drink for me and my new friend here. And whatever grub you've got that's actually hot," he called out to the Mister Handy down a ways. The robot tipped it's tiny bowler hat and went to work. He turned his stool back to her. "What brings you out this ways, Vault girl? You seem like the type to be huddled up in Diamond City."

The Handy slid an uncapped beer to her and she threw back a drink before answering. "I'm looking for someone," she breathed out and ran her tongue over her teeth. "Diamond City is not my kind of place. Too much tension. Plus that bald joker they call a Mayor rubs me wrong."

The ghoul let out a cackle and slapped her back. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, sister! That man is scum, let me tell you."

Fay coughed at the sudden attention to her back and sat up straight. "I can imagine..." she grumbled and drank more. The beer didn't taste bad. It was actually cool, compared to the hot bottles she managed to scrounge up around the wasteland. It had an odd aftertaste though. Probably radiation if anything. "Can I ask you some questions, Hancock?" His own drink was a big bottle of whiskey and a semi clean crystal glass. Perhaps that would be better right now then a beer. The glass made a pleasant clink as he set it down and leaned his head on his hand.

"Ask away. I'll tell you what I can. Though a man's got to keep some secrets. Need to keep that mysterious vibe to draw in the ladies," he replied with what was becoming his signature grin.

"I'm sure," she said with a snort. "Have you seen or heard of anyone coming through here with a baby?" His brows lowered as he though. Fay could almost hear the gears turning in his head. Who knows the amount of people that come in and out of this place, much less the information he gets through his many connections. Finally her answer was a shake of the head. "I thought as much." Another dead end until she found this Valentine man.

With the weeks she'd been on the road, diving into raider dens, taking out hordes of feral ghouls, and all the while worrying about her baby, her nerves were at a breaking point. Where was Shaun? Was his being taken care of? She could almost hear his cries. The rest of her beer went down with a growl and then she leaned over and grabbed the whiskey bottle. A swig of that went down like boiling water and she gasped.

"Hey, man. Take it easy on that stuff. I had trouble finding it," Hancock murmured and took it from her. Fay glared at him and pushed her glasses up. She could feel her face warming up from the alcohol already. "Charlie, get me a bottle of the other stuff for the lady." Of course he would still be set on getting her drunk. "There's obviously something more chewing at you. Spill."

"Why the fuck do you care?" There we go. She could feel her control breaking like the strings on a guitar. The new bottle was set in front of her and took a quick few gulps. Shit. _What a way to get new connections, you tit!_ "Sorry. I've just had a lot of shit dropped on my plate." Fay rested her chin on her fist and glared at the wall. "I'll tell you something I haven't really told many other people if you promise to keep your yap shut about it. Okay?"

"Cross my heart. You can trust me, doll." He leaned a bit closer and pushed his hat a back as to not jab her in the face.

"I'm not from here. Not technically. I'd say time travel but that's not correct." A sigh escaped and she looked up at the dark, almost black eyes surveying her. "I'm over 200 years old, Hancock. I'm old enough to be anyone here's great great grandma."

Her stomach clenched as he leaned back and frowned. That look was one for multi-headed creatures that glowed in the dark. "You look pretty damn good for someone prewar. You don't look like a ghoul either." His whole body tensed up, posture changing just enough, brows lowering. It was like someone had flipped a switch and turned on the authority. This man looked like a mayor, like he knew how harsh the world was. "Am I going to regret letting you into my town, Vault girl?"

"I have a name you know," she hissed, sitting up and poking a finger at his chest. "It's Fay, you tit. And no, you won't have any issues unless you start something first." More of the whiskey went down her throat and she hunched over again. "It's hard to believe, but yes. I'm prewar. The vault I was in, they were brewing up some scheme and didn't speak a word to any of us about it. What they told us was just a simple decontamination was something completely different. Cryogenics." The dread and anxiety from the memories started to darken the edges of her vision and she closed her eyes. Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths and it'll be fine. "They froze everyone but only I made it out alive from what I saw. I've only been thawed out for a little over a month."

"Shit. Vault Tech is fucked up, man." Hancock took a sip from his glass and grimaced at the thoughts. "That's a lot to deal with. What about the person you're looking for?"

"My son," she whispered. "My husband was holding him when we were frozen. The only thing I can remember is suddenly waking up once before the final time. People were getting into their pod, trying to take Shaun away. My husband refused, started fighting. Some man just shot him and they snatched my baby up." Tears threatened to fall but she blinked them away and took another draw from the bottle. "He called me the back up just before the froze me again though I have no clue what that means. But I have to find Shaun. He's not even a year old." The pain was a bit duller, the alcohol taking affect.

The ghoul growled and finished his glass in one gulp. Whitechapel scooted up and dropped a bowl of sugarbombs and a stick of cooked meat, mole rat from the smell. "This world is harsh,"Hancock said, drumming his fingers on the counter. "You weren't raised in this hell hole. I don't know how you've managed so far, but it's just going to get harder." There was a pause and a click of teeth. "I'll put out feelers for you. See what information I can get. But you'll need to do something in return for me. You dig?"

Help? He was willing to help her? Her heart settled in her throat as she thought it over. The chance to get actual help, not just some half ass hint that lead to a wild goose chase. It was almost too good to be true. "What kind of something are you needing?" she asked and swiveled her stool to face him completely, bottle nestled in her lap.

"Nothing you can't handle. A little recon, take out some bad eggs. I already have someone set up to do it, but you can both tackle it. Fast results," he answered, pulling an inhaler of Jet out and taking a quick hit.

Her eyes followed the bright red plastic in his hands like a crow to a shiny piece of metal. She hadn't even touched a chem in years. Not since college and meeting Nate. It was so very tempting right now. Anything to take her mind off of everything that was happening. Hancock chuckled and she locked her eyes onto his as he raised a brow at her. "Sounds good. I can handle a fight. Is that…?" Her mouth went dry as he took her hand and placed the inhaler in it. "You sure?"

"Go for it," he almost purred. "I have plenty more where that came from. I might even share if you ask nicely." That grin on his face was so shit eating, so confident, so damn infuriatingly charming. Fay took the plastic in her lips, pressed, and breathed deep. Tingling in her nerves led to numb and her muscles relaxed to a degree that hadn't been achieved in...well, over 200 years for her. Her head lulled back as she sighed loudly. All the buzzing thoughts, the tension, just gone. It was pure bliss.

Then the scent of the roasted mole rat meat hit her. She turned back around, grabbed a piece, and went to town. The ghoul laughed and filled his glass with more whiskey. Too soon her food was gone, the whiskey bottles empty, and the last puff of jet inhaled. She could feel herself sway a bit from the lax muscles and she leaned on Hancock's shoulder to keep from tipping over. "So, buddy, you still up for more o-of this?" she mumbled, waving the inhaler under his nose.

"Suuuure thing, doll. C'mon. Let's head back to the old place." Together, they struggled up the stairs, around the corner, and up even more stairs inside the building to the large room Hancock used for what she guessed an office, but also party space. Fay flopped down onto a couch and lazily watched the ghoul as he shuffled about to grab random things from tables. Soon he joined her on the rickety couch. "How ya feelin' now?"

Fay just hummed and closed her eyes, enjoying the now fading lightness in her limbs. "Good, but I could be better." Something small landed on her lap and she cracked an eye to see another inhaler. She felt like she was moving in slow motion as she picked it up and took another hit. She'd have to do this more often, just relax and shut off her mind. At this point, it seemed a necessary evil to keep herself from loosing her mind. Her eyes roamed the room, taking in the disrepair, litter of drugs and booze, and was that a pair of ladies underwear? Was this man for real? Her head lulled to the side and she squinted at him, trying to puzzle him out. He says he's mayor, but what mayor does...this! "Do you treat all your new comers like this, Mr. Hancock?"

Said ghoul threw an arm over the back of the couch and leaned closer. "Nah. You just had such a bangin' entrance, I felt the need to introduce myself. We could use more people like you around here, helping me keep the rabble in place." Her nose twitched at his whiskey breath.

"Charmer." He laughed at her comment and slide closer. "And apparently not short on ladies," she grumbled and pulled another pair of underwear out that peaked out from the seat cushion. Before she could really think, Fay snatched the hat from his head, laid the white pair on in it's place, and shoved the old leather tri corner onto her own head. "I suppose I can see why."

There was more laughter from him as he flicked the cloth from his head. "I've got that whole 'King of the Zombies' vibe, doll. It works well enough." His eyes locked onto her and she felt the numbness turn to tingles. "What do ya' think?"

"Judging by the trophies around the room, yeah. Do you even have the right equipment for that though? I mean-" She stopped and felt the over whelming urge to just shove her foot right into her mouth. Why the fuck had she gone and said that?! Of course he did, but even if he didn't, it's not her business to say jack shit, specially with him offering to help her. "Shit, I'm sorry," she yelped and struggled to sit up. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm just not used to being around people with your...condition and-and uh..." She trailed off once she realized he hadn't stopped staring her down and was actually a bit closer. The tingling grew a bit stronger.

"Did you just apologize to me?" Hancock asked and she nodded and shrunk down a bit. "Well shit. That's a first." Fay's jaw dropped open as he chuckled and pushed his hat down a bit more onto her head. "Don't sweat it. I can tell you didn't mean it. I'm used to it anyhow." She relaxed a notch and bit her lip. He was still staring at her though. Damn, she felt like a zoo animal. If he kept examining her like a freak at a carnival, she's knock his teeth out, help be damned.

The couch gave a slight shift and before she could look up, he had her cornered in the arm rest. The hat fell off and hit the ground as her head leaned half over the edge but all she could do was sit stiffly. His arms caged her in place on either side of her head and his legs straddling hers. Her whole mouth went dry and she vainly tried to swallow. What as he doing?! Oh god, he was warm though. Radiated warmth like a space heater. She opened her mouth to say something but the words died on her tongue as he leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Would you like to check if I have the right equipment, Vault girl? I can guarantee it's in perfect working condition but inspections are always welcome."

A shiver shot down her spine and she stiffed up. He was coming on to her! It felt good. No, he felt good, but anger started to burn through the haze in her head. How dare he! "Are you serious right now?" She shoved him off and stood up. "You've got some nerve, buddy!" The anger set the tension right back and her arms shook with rage. "Once again, I have a name so fucking use it. And no, I do not want anything like that. I'm married." She threw her pack over her shoulder and turned to go. But before she left, she scooped up his hat and threw it at him. "I swear, men will never change. Not even 200 years is enough. Ugh!" she shouted and stormed out. The echos of his laughter slipped out the boarded windows and followed her to the hotel. Who in the world had she just gotten tangled up with?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Pleased to say, this chapter is a good bit longer then the last one. Almost twice the length! Again, let me know if you see spelling and grammar errors, or just any general suggestions or ideas. I hope you enjoy!**

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Hangovers. How had she forgotten how bad hangovers were? Fay squinted at her cracked reflection through the dim morning light. Her black hair was frizzed and curled, braid long fallen out, face lovingly adorned with dark circles around her eyes and the foulest breath she could imagine. She could only wonder what kind of chem is just a normal painkiller for headaches. This one was beating at her temples like a jackhammer. Or perhaps the hair of the dog would be the best solution…

Time to tame the beast. She took a bottle or two of purified water and dumped it into an old stained bowl, then stared at it in preparation. Best to just get it over with quickly. With a deep breath, she dunked her head in the water and scrubbed at her hair vigorously. The liquid felt cool compared to the feverish warmth of head and it helped. If only a little.

Though the moment was interrupted much too soon for her taste. The door to her molded hotel room rattled in its frame as someone pounded on it. Fay lifted her head from the bowl and glared at it. "Go away! Can't you tell I'm dying in here? Let me do it in peace!" she yelled and dunked her head back in. More pounding followed of course.

"Vault girl! The boss wants to see you. Something about a deal and a job." A woman's voice. Fay groaned and rested her forehead on the blessedly also cool bowl rim. Hancock. Of course it had to do with him. She threw her sodden waist long hair over her shoulder and threw the door open. With no glasses on, she could kind of make out a tall red head. Must have been that woman with him yesterday. Said woman took a step back at the sight of her and laughed a bit. "I'll just tell him you'll be an hour."

"Make it two," she growled and blew a wet strand of bangs from her nose. "And tell him that next time, he better come himself if he's going to bother me this early in the morning after we've drank ourselves sick. I want him to be just as miserable as I am."

"Will do, Vault girl."

"It's Fay. Please. I have a name."

"Fay then. Later."

She watched the woman walk away and pursed her mouth in thought. She didn't even know her name. Introductions will have to happen later. Now, she needed to fight this mop into place. Fay went to work drying, combing, brushing in a few drops of her vanilla oil, and putting everything back into a loose thick braid again. A quick drink of whiskey later, she felt half alive. Outfitted in her leather pants and white beater, she felt ready to face the smooth red devil.

* * *

"You're lookin' good for a dead girl, sister."

"And you look...dead for a living man."

Hancock held a hand over his heart and hissed. "I'm wounded! And I thought we'd connected on an intimate level last night." The small woman clenched her jaw and pushed her glasses up a mite higher on her nose. Obviously she didn't like him mentioning that. "Okay okay. I get the message. No touchy, no hitting on the lovely depth dweller come light."

He pushed himself up from the couch. Time for business. The main candidate for his little recon mission had flaked out, to say the least. Fahrenheit had found the ghoul's body, two shots to the head and caps gone just outside the town. That left this little thing to do it for him. He'd heard some rumors, mostly just this wispy babe knocking out a super mutant in one hit. There was no way he'd believe that shit. But she must have some fight if she could make it all the way here in one piece.

"So? What is this job you want me to do?" Her demand caught his attention again and he let his eyes drift from her little feet, along those fine legs, and curves the rest of the way up. Mmm, he'd have to try again later with her. No way that one was getting away. "Eyes on my face, no nose," she growled and snapped her fingers.

"Peace, four eyes. Here's the deal. I've been hearing shifty talks about this Pickman Gallery. Normally it's crawling with raiders but it's dead silent now. Gives me the creeps. Be a doll and check it out."

"That's it? It's quiet so it must be dangerous? What is with this world?"

"Silence is the worst thing. It means either two things. Someone's schemin' or something killed every poor sod in that area and whatever did it is probably still out there. Now, make sure you actually find out what it is. Don't just pass by and think that's good enough. Good reports means more caps." He tossed a sack of caps on the coffee table and watched her lick her lips as she locked onto them. This one would be the death of him.

"What's with the caps? I thought this was just payment for the info," she asked, flicking her eyes back to him."

"I take care of my people. Specially the ones that do a good job. As much as I hate to admit it, your story got to me though. A baby, lost out in this shit hole? Hell no. I'd take the sucker out that snatched him myself if I had the chance, but that's solely your reward to reap, doll. Now any juicy bits I find, I'll pass on free of charge." Then it dawned on him. Where was the dame that had came into town with her? "Where's your friend?"

Emotions flickered across her face, worry staying the longest, till she went serious again. "I don't know. She never came to the hotel last night. But things haven't been...the greatest. I'm guessing she just got chemed out of her mind and wandered out. I don't need her help regardless." Hancock clicked his tongue in thought. There was no way he'd feel good about sending her in there alone.

"Well shit. How about this then." He got up and gathered up more caps into another bag. "I don't want you goin' there without some back up. That area is bad, real bad." A few scribbles on a sheet of ancient looking paper. He'd get McCready on it. The bastard owed him anyhow. With the note shoved in the bag, the ghoul walked up and held the bag out to her. "There's a guy in the bar you can talk to. His name's McCready, mercenary type. Just give this to him and he'll help you out."

Fay watched the bag like it was full of little rad scorpions, not even trying to take it from him. "Thanks, but I don't need any help. If I can clear out the Battle Zone on my own, I think I can handle a few more raiders."

His mouth went dry and he took a step back. "Say what?" She took out all the raiders in that fucking place on her own?! He didn't know if that was scary or sexy. Maybe both. Hot damn. "You've got to be shitting me. There's no way a dame like you could do all that."

"You don't have to believe me. I don't care. Just know I'll get the job done and done well. Is there anything else you can tell me about this place before I leave?"

"Nah." His fingers caught her chin and lifted her head up, inspecting her a bit closer. Through the thick glasses on her face, she had some nice eyes that he hadn't noticed before. Green, like a nice whiskey bottle. He'd always thought that color was just a rad mutation. But she was prewar. After a few moments, her face started to get a bit pink. "I'm serious about being careful in there," he murmured. "I feel like you and me can do some good work around this place. Come back in one piece. We can talk more."

Her mouth puckered up a bit in a pout. He could see her wavering on her decision. "We'll see, Mr. Hancock," she said softly and smiled a bit. "Now, if you would let go of my face, I can get on my way."

He hummed in thought and leaned in closer. "I never got a tip for my tour last night, ya know. How about a little something, doll. Nothing a married gal can't give a friend."

A moment of sadness flickered in her eyes then she closed them with a soft laugh. The sound sent his gut into a twist. "Was married, remember? Sure. Why not." In one move, she grabbed a fist full of his coat, stood on her toes, and seal her lips on his. Her lips were soft and he caught some sugary scent that drifted from her. The twist turned to a flip as he let out a groan and reached out a hand to tangle in that mane of hair she had. Her own grabbed his wrist before he could touch a thing, her grip so strong he could swear he heard his bones grind together. She pulled back just a bit, breath fanning warm over his mouth as she panted. "I didn't say you could touch." He licked his lips and got something indescribably sweet left from her lips. Aw fuck, who was this woman?

"I'm gonna have to take you on a lot more tours if you always tip like that, Vault girl. I'll be all hot and bothered for daaaays now." She shoved him away with a scoff and he rocked back on his heels, a huge grin on his face.

"You'll survive, no nose. Don't stay up waiting for me." And with that, he watched all five feet of her sashay out leaving him with too many thoughts and the need for a good fuck.

* * *

She shouldn't have done that. Fay cursed herself for the tenth time as she rounded another corner, close to the Pickman Gallery. It was too late now. Another hiss escaped through her teeth and she tightened her grip on the device around her fist. The damn man was just too fucking smooth, suave almost. Instead of knocking him on his ass, all she'd done is gave him an ego boost. She didn't need him having more swagger to try and talk circles around her.

The sound of voices echoed around to her and she froze. Raiders. Quickly crouching, she peaked around the corner and saw a few huddled together in front of the door she needed in.

"Don't worry. That fucker is going to pay. We'll paint the walls with his brains and see how he fucking likes it. Piece of art my ass!" one of them grumbled louder and louder as he went. The others joined in with their agreements and growls. Good, they were distracted. She hooked her power fist back onto her belt and pulled out a set of brass knuckles decorated in carefully welded support screws and carpenter nails. This would be easy.

With practiced ease, she slipped up behind the closest one, grabbed his head just so and snapped his neck with a quick twist. The others stood there for a second or so before realizing what happened with a roar. Of course they went straight for their guns. Her fist connected with a chin, bolts and screws sending blood flying, and another to the temple and eye. She turned quickly and kicked the gun out of the hands of the last one, another kick to the groin, and jammed both sets of metal knuckles into his throat. They were jerked down and another kick sent him down, gurgling as blood poured from the gaping hole where his adam's apple used to be.

Fay shook the blood and bits of flesh from her hands with disdain. She still wasn't used to taking a life. Yes, she had done women's boxing and self defense. Being a lawyer had meant lots of unhappy creeps would try to hurt her. It was supposed to give Nate some of peace of mind. Looks like it paid off a lot more then she had thought. The first time she'd killed a person still gave her nightmares. The raider in the cacophony of steel cages that ran screaming at her with a pool cue. She'd shot him right in the face, multiple times. The blood had been just everywhere… She shook the thoughts away and took her power fist back out. No point in dwelling on that.

The door was open a crack and she put her face up to it to peek through. The smell, that god awful smell hit her like a tank and she jerked back, gagging. Oh dear lord, what was in there?! Her stomach revolted and she lost everything onto the ground. More convulsions hit her and she dry heaved a bit more until it became a bit more bearable. Nothing had ever smelled this bad before. She wiped her mouth and steeled herself. This wasn't going to be fun.

It took her hours to clear the building out. Soon she was covered in blood and standing in front of the one labeled painting. They weren't bad, artistically, she could admit that much. But the process to make them, it sent shivers down her spin and more twists to her stomach. He had been killing raiders, yes, but no human deserved to be tortured, drain, and used like this. But this one painting had caught her attention as it swayed in it's spot. Unlike all the other paintings, this one wasn't fixed completely to the wall. She removed it with gentle hands and set it on the ground, examining the safe behind it. It wasn't an overly complicated one at least.

The lock was picked quickly and it swung open on well oiled hinges. Inside was a knife, caps, and a note. Her curiosity peaked as the paper was just a thank you note. The caps were pocketed but the knife, that she pulled that out carefully. It was a nice one, perfectly sharp and glistened with oil in the dim light. Just one prick to her finger tip brought a large drop of blood. Then it hit her. It was his, whoever had done this. The killing, the evisceration, skinning, everything, had been done with this knife. Again her stomach lurched but she held it down and clenched the handle of the knife harder. She would keep it. And once she found the disgusting man that had this, she would use it to kill him herself. He could watch his own blood drain out, just has he had to all those people he'd killed. She slid the blade into the straps of her boot for safe keeping.

She scoured the building to look for anything that would lead to him. Obviously he wasn't here if she had taken care of every person she could find so far. Then she spotted a huge hole in the wall, a lantern behind the metal pipes casting out shadows. Why would there be a lantern back there? Thankfully the pipes were just far enough apart for her to squeeze through and yank her pack after her. Once inside the wall, she followed the collapsed floors farther down until she was in some sort of underground work tunnel. The voices of more angry raiders echoed down to her. They were after Pickman like blood hounds. Perfect. All she needed to do was follow them and let them lead her right to the man.

The tunnels were not in good condition, being filled with trash, small lakes of irradiated water, and cave ins every turn. Fay balanced carefully on a large metal pipe spanning the dangerous water below and glared at the raider in front of her. The bastard charged at her with a roar and she ducked, catching her shoulder in his gut and shoved him over her back. A punch of her power fist into his knee as he flipped did the job and he smacked his head against the pipe as he fell into the water below, sinking fast with a mangled leg to swim with. More voices caught her attention and drew her to a ledge looking into another lantern lit room, a few raiders surrounding a man in a dirty suit.

"Finally got you, you piece of shit. You're gonna pay for what you did!" Shit, they were going to kill him. Without thinking, she pulled out the only pistol she carried on her and shot one of the raiders. It caught their attention enough to where they turned around. "She's with him. Get her!" They swarmed from all sides and she slide down the ledge, right into the middle. She spun with ease and kicked a weapon or two to the ground, grabbed an arm and flipped another over her shoulder to bowl over two others. It was almost too easy. None of this idiots had any idea of even the most basic self defense moves. Once they were down, she shot each in the head. No one needed more raiders in this world.

"My my. Thank you for the assistance." Her head jerked up to the suited man and she clenched her jaw. This was the one who had cause this. Tortured and killed so many for his so called art.

"Are you Pickman?" she asked, stepping up to him and holstering her pistol.

"I am. Are you a fan of my work? It took me weeks to arrange it just the right away," he purred and laced his fingers in pleasure.

"I suppose you could say that. Why were those raiders after you?"

"They didn't take well to me to using their friends for paint. Blood makes the best medium." She hummed and clenched her jaw more to keep from snarling. "Allow me to show my appreciation." He held out a key to her and she took it. "It's for a safe upstairs. I keep it behind-"

"I already found it," she said, cutting him off and pulling the knife out. "It's a very nice blade." She ran the edge carefully over her finger and let the blood drip down. Pickman's eyes followed the blood with wild fascination, a glint of glee in his eyes. "I can see how it helped you with paintings. Allow me to try it out." She slashed out with the knife and cut through his throat like it were butter. Blood gushed out, gurgling as he tried to cry and fell to his knees, air escaped with the liquid. Cold. She felt cold. She had never killed someone someone outside of self defense. It didn't feel good or fill her with the warm glow of justice well served. If anything, she just felt sick as she watched the man give one last gasp and the blood slow to a trickle.

The knife felt heavy in her hand as she glared at it. She didn't want to keep it, but it would be good to show Hancock. With it returned to her boot, she left the bloody place with a sick heart.

* * *

Blood dripped from her hand onto the wooden floor in the State House. The soft patter wasn't enough to catch Hancock's attention. He hadn't even noticed her standing there yet, of course. Busy chatting up some young, tall girl in his lap, a tin of Mentats in his hand. Fay held the blade loosely between her fingers and contemplated throwing it at him, but no. She didn't have the aim to guarantee she wouldn't hit him by accident. Instead, she stepped forward and slammed it into the wooden coffee table, between his feet. Speck of blood flew off it and landed on his dusty boots and caused the girl to squeak in fright and call backwards onto the floor. The ghoul didn't even flinch, just lifted a brow at her and crunched the minty chem in his mouth.

"Well well. Look who's back." His eyes roamed over her taking in the blood, the cuts, finally landing on her face. Fay knew she didn't look even slightly welcoming. Casually, she picked up a cloth from his table, removed her glasses, and cleaned the flecks of blood from them. As she focused on the lenses, the girl scrambled up and ran out of the room, her heels clattering on the stairs in her hast. Hancock still didn't move from his spot.

Once she returned her glasses to her face, she got a good look at his face. It was no longer the care free, high as a kite mayor. His eyes were darker, pitch black, and every line spoke of tension. Her shoulders went back and she lifted her chin. "Aren't you going to ask what happened,?" she said softly.

"Not well, I'm guessin'," he replied, sitting up a bit straighter and gesturing to the seat beside him. She took the couch across from him instead and tossed her gore encrusted knuckles onto the table. "You weren't kidding about being able to take care of yourself, that's for damn sure. Now let's hear it."

Her face tightened as she held back the urge to cry. He didn't need to see her weak. "It's a slaughter house. The raiders are quiet because most of them are dead." She paused to take a deep steadying breath. "Pickman, the man that did this, eviscerated and bled out piles of raiders and used that to make what he called art. Painted with their blood, dangled heads from ceilings. It was...just be glad you didn't have to see or smell it. There were some there chasing after him for revenge. I had to take them out."

Hancock leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and his chin over laced fingers. Murder was his expression as he contemplated her story. "What of the guy?" he asked with a lower angry voice.

"I killed him with his own knife. Watched him bleed out." She nodded to the blade embedded in the wood. He nodded at her with a grime half smile and leaned back again.

"Good. Justice is served and my people will have one less thing to worry about." Fay rubbed at her eyes under her glasses with a sigh and hunched over her knees. She felt exhausted. Not just from the killing, but the sheer horror of the place. No one should have to see or deal with that. The soft clunk of glass on wood caught her attention and she looked up slightly to see a bottle of whiskey and a glass in front of her. "You look like you need this."

The bottle was in her hand and uncorked in seconds. Of course she needed it. Anything to help her forget that place. Two gulps, three gulps, she could feel her face numbing, her thoughts slowing. Heaven. "Thank you," she gasped and slammed the green glass down. The urge to cry was gone, the cold empty feeling filled with a warmth. The ghoul sat beside her, close enough for their knees to touch, and placed a bag of caps on her lap. She'd forgotten about her payment. Fay almost didn't want to take it. It would be like taking blood money almost. Practicality won and she shoved it into her pack.

He was quiet beside her. This man was never quiet. She leaned against the back of the couch and looked over at her. His eyes were on her again, still dark and filled with intelligence, sadness, and surprisingly enough, worry. Instead of feeling like a specimen under a microscope, she just felt...at ease. His presence was strangely calming. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that shit," he growled. She just gave him a half smile, shook her head, and grabbed up the bottle to chug down another fourth of it. "I'm serious, Fay."

She froze and stared at him like a deer in headlights, bottle still at her lips. He'd said it. For the first damn time, he said her name. She laughed, laughed so hard tears ran down her face. Of course he looked at her like she'd lost her mind. It fueled the laughter more. After a few minutes, he was about to ask but she put a finger to his lips and set down the bottle as the laughs died down to hiccups. His breath was still as hot on her hand, just as earlier, and more just radiated from his body into her side, even through all those layers of ridiculous clothes. That heat settled in her stomach and curled up her neck to her face. A different warmth from the alcohol.

Another minute slipped by before she pulled her hand away but he grabbed it, halting her from pulling away. Fay's heart speed up and she swallowed. His eyes were so intense, like he was reading her every thought. God, that face. Even with the scars, the hard muscles, he was handsome. What he must have looked like before becoming a ghoul. Fuck it. She needed this.

They both leaned forward at once and their lips clashed, the kiss hard and bruising. The heat in her spread from her head to her toes and she let out a frustrated groan. It had been months since she'd had anything like this. First Nate was over seas, then she had the baby. Once Nate finally came home, she was still in recovery when the bombs fell. Then the weeks in this hell hole. Her frustration levels were on a level she'd never dealt with before. She climbed onto Hancock's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, nipping at his chapped lips.

His chest rumbled as he growled in pleasure, hands twisted into the cushions of the couch. He wasn't touching her. It was an oddly sweet, gentleman like thing to do. She pulled away and grabbed his hands, putting them on her ass. "You can touch now, hot stuff. You have my permission."

He laughed, a deep throaty one that made her toes curl. "Good to know, baby. Man, you're wild." His body heat was surrounding her like a blanket. With light kisses, she traced his cheek, along his jaw, nibbled at his neck. He had a nice taste. A bit spicy, but definitely still male. The hands she'd placed for him traced up her sides, taking their time to feel, scratch a bit. Then the frustration hit her again and she growled herself, running her hands down his chest to his belt. The ridge she felt showed that yes, he did have the right equipment and it was very well sized equipment at that.

Before she could do anything else, he flipped her on to her back, pulling her legs up around his hips. She arched her back and ground against him, groaning at the feel. The ghoul took her wrists in one hand, held them over her head, and leaned down to trail his mouth. Down her neck, pausing at her breasts to nip at each nipple, drawing out a moan from her, and pushed her shirt up a bit to run his tongue just above the hem of her pants. He growled her name again and she froze.

He'd sounded just like Nate, saying it that way. Her head cleared up quickly and everything came rushing back. Sensing her sudden unease, Hancock lifted his head, hat askew and breathing a bit heavy with confusion on his face. Before he could say a word, she pulled away and stood up, straightening her clothes. "I-I can't do this. I have to go," she stammered out, shoving everything into her pack and shoulder it.

Warm calloused skin grabbed her hand and she refused to turn and look at him. There was no way she could handle whatever look he had on his face right now. "Woah there. What's this all of the sudden? I thought we had something good goin' here."

"Let go, Hancock. Please." His grip loosened enough for her yank her hand away and she left as fast as she could. With hurried steps, she slipped down the alleyways, into the hotel, and into her room and locked the door. All the lights were off and she left it that way, curling up on the molded mattress and cried. Cried for what she'd lost and missed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I just wanted to say thank you for the follows and reviews, guys. It means a lot that you're enjoying the story. It's nice to know I haven't lost my ability to write completely! Again, let me know if I missed anything. I don't have any friends to use as betas. Enjoy!**

* * *

Fay shrugged out of her silly Silver Shroud get up and plopped down on an open booth. It'd been so many weeks since she'd done anything in Goodneighbor, she couldn't count them on both hands. But they had dropped off the cure with Daisy to have it sent to Duncan and she'd heard the radio. Kent's plea for help hit her soft spot for justice. She couldn't say no to that sweet, idealistic old ghoul. Children dying from bad chems? A crazy woman taking out drifters in her favorite town? Fuck that shit. She pulled her glasses off and wiped dried blood from them as she waited for her partner to get back with drinks. Magnolia's singing echoed back into the VIP lounge along with clompy boot steps.

"Oooh, man. I got the best shit, boss!" She looked up and smiled as the blonde man skipped over and dropped an arm full of beer and a bottle whiskey on their table. "Chapey found this whole pallet of some sort of seasonal brew. It cost an arm and a leg, but damn is it good!" he crowed, sliding in next to her and pushing a bottle under her nose. The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon filled her senses and the smile grew to a grin.

"I remember this stuff," she said and took a sip. It reminded her so much of fall. She missed pumpkin pie and Halloween candy. Come to think of it, it was already a month into fall, though the weather was still too hot. "I used to sneak out of class to drink a whole case and eat caramel apples with my friend when I was in college." They were nice but distant memories.

"Caramel apples? Is that like dandy boy apples?" the mercenary asked and pushed his hat back.

"Not in the slightest. I wish I could find a way for you to taste it. Fresh as purified water but sweet. Apples were my favorite." He grinned and finished his first beer. MacCready loved to listen to her talk about the prewar days. He told her he was writing everything so he could send it to Duncan. She found it sweet that he was so dedicated to his son. "Fall was my favorite time of the year. It was so beautiful. All the trees would be turning bright orange, red and yellow. All the crops were set for harvest, but pumpkins are the biggest."

"What the hel- eh, heck is a pumpkin?" Fay leaned over and tapped on the little orange pumpkin on the beer label. "That tiny thing? Bull."

"Completely serious. They can be anywhere from the size of a mug to as big as a small house. I once read about it in the paper where an old man carved out the biggest one in state record and lived in it for a week." His eyes bugged out and leaned forward in excitement. "You are such a kid, RJ," Fay said and pushed his hat down over his eyes. He pulled the hat off with a big pout on his face.

"But I'm your kid, Fay. Who knows what you'd do without me." He planted a wet kiss on her cheek and they both burst out laughing. They continued with the stories and drinking until more loud footsteps echoed down into the room. Fay glanced up and froze, finding Fahrenheit leaning against the wall with a not so happy look on her face. MacCready followed her gaze and put on his mercenary face, stern and intimating. "What do you want, Fahrenheit? I paid my tab off with Hancock ages ago."

"I'm not here for you, MacCready. I'm her for the lady. Or best to say, the Silver Shroud. The boss has a deal for this mysterious vigilante." Fay tensed up. She'd done her best to not think about that infuriating man the months she'd been away from this place. Every once in a while, a traveling merchant would have a note or a package from him. Chems, notes with lines scribbled out multiple times that just ended up says 'Hey Vault Girl. Keep Kicking Ass' in his horrible chicken scratch hand writing. He'd obviously been keeping track of her. Fahrenheit's voice drew her from her thoughts again. "And I suggest you actually come this time, Fay. He's got some information about how to get to Kellogg."

MacCready slapped a hand on the table and jumped up. "I'll be dam- tickled pink! We've been trying to get into the place for weeks. C'mon, Fay. Let's go talk to him!" He tugged on her arm but stopped once he saw her face. "Boss?"

Fay felt her stomach give a sick churn as she thought about meeting Hancock again. After the last time, she didn't have the nerve. She'd made a fool of herself. Nate was put to rest now, sure, but… Shit. With Shaun still so far out of reach, it wasn't a distraction she could afford. She stood slowly and walked up to the tall red headed woman. "Tell him Silver Shroud will be there whenever he feels like it. Any information he has, I can get on my own."

The bodyguard frowned and shook her head. "I don't know who's more stubborn. You or that old peeler. Fine. Have it your way. I'll relay the message," she said and left, her metal armor causing a clamor along the way.

RJ stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You sure that was a good idea, boss? I know you didn't leave on good terms last time, but he's trying-" His words cut off as she help up her hand.

"I want you to go for me, RJ."

"What?!"

The Silver Shroud costume was too big for her anyhow. She pushed it into his arms and shoved the hat onto his head. "Put that on and talk to John for me. He wants Silver Shroud, and that's who he'll get."

"You've got to be kidding me. He'll eat me alive. It's you he wants to talk to!" Fay gave him a tired and aggravated look. "Aw, fine. Just, come check up on me if I'm not back by midnight, yeah?"

"Of course, dear. I appreciate this." She stood on her toes and kissed his chin. "I'll be back at the hotel. See you there." The blonde man gave a grumble and shrugged into the costume. She patted his butt as she walked by and out of the bar.

* * *

Her sleep was shattered as the door to the room banged open and MacCready scrambled in, slamming it behind him. Fay struggled out of bed and over to him, still in her pajamas, catching his arm before he could fall over in whatever panic he was in. It had barely been an hour since she'd decided to lay down and try to think of a better way to handle the shit eating mayor when she dosed off. This was not a nice thing to wake up to. "RJ, shit, what is it?"

His wide eyes met her and he let out a high pitched laugh that cracked part way through. "He's comin', boss." Her heart have a stutter. "He was really not happy to see me instead of you. Took a shot at my fuc- fine lookin' head and I booked it out. He said to expect him for a personal visit soon," he managed between pants. She sighed and pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I should have known better. Let me have the jacket back." He shrugged out of it and she slipped it on. Her friend took in her lack of pants and raised a brow.

"You should probably get some pants on. As much as I know he'd like the show-" And there is was. A fist hammered on the door cutting him off. "That was fast..."

Fay gave him a half hearted smile and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Stay here. I'll talk to him in the hall," she whispered and walked to the door before he could say anything else.

The whole thing shook in its frame again, rattling the doorknob in her hand. He really was not happy at all. She pulled her shoulder back, lifted her chin, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the barrel of a pistol was centimeters from her nose with a very angry ghoul holding it. With a steady hand, she pushed it from her face, stepped forward, and closed the door behind her. "Mr. Hancock. What can I do for you this fine evening?"

A low growl was her reply before he could take a deep breath and calm down a notch. "So you are here." He looked the same, if a bit more thin, ragged. But those eyes didn't change. Same pitch black when mad, though she could see something else in there too. "What are you doing getting mixed up with that piece of shit? I thought he'd done something to you for you to stay away for so long. I'll kill 'em-" Her palm met the side of his face with a loud crack, cutting him off and sending his old hat to the ground.

"Don't talk about him like that. RJ is a sweet, kind, and loyal friend and you have no right to say a god damn thing," she said lowly, anger rumbling through her. "And how dare you shoot at him. You asked for Silver Shroud and that's who came. What ever information you have, you could have given to him."

Hancock straightened up, panting slightly and still flexing his hands in anger. "I asked for you! Not that ex Gunner shit head. Everyone knows you've been runnin' around town in that damn getup beating down bad apples with Kent."

"What do you want, John?" she asked softly turning from him to pace a bit. "If it doesn't have to do with the Silver Shroud, I don't want to hear it." His hand clamped down on her shoulder and pushed her up against the wall. Fay froze and kept a straight face, even with her heart hammering in her chest.

"I'm so fucking close to snapping here, doll," he said lowly, the gravely tones rumbling.

"You know better then to touch me," she warned.

"That's not what you told me last time." His eyes traced her from head to toe, taking in the over sized shirt, lack of pants, awkwardly big silver trench coat and tousled hair around her waist. "Should you really be dressing like that around a big bad man like me, doll?" he purred, still tense as a cat stalking prey and put a hand on either side of her head to lean down close. He had almost a whole foot on her in height and he was taking full advantage of it.

She forced a half grin to her face. "I was expecting RJ to come back. Not you." His whole face darkened like a rad storm cloud and she flinched has he punch a hole in the wall beside her head.

"Don't test me, Fay. Now, I want an explanation as to why you just fuckin' ditched me. Shit, I thought we were gonna work together, clean up this place and you just bailed. Took off with MacCready and no one heard a peep from you in months until ole' Nicky was back in town, talkin' about you."

"I don't have to explain anything to you," she barked and jabbed a finger into his chest. "I'm not one of your little pawns or passing fancies you can just order around whenever you want. I'd rather have a partner I can trust to watch my back." His eyes closed as he breathed deeply.

"You mean to tell me you didn't feel anything, not a god damned thing back on that couch? Huh? Look me in the eyes and say you didn't feel some sort of connection." His voice was getting lower and even more dangerous sounding by the second.

"So that's what this about? You're pissed cause I didn't jump on your damn cock?" Fay stopped and met his gaze, matching fire with fire. "Maybe I did. But what I want doesn't matter. I'm going to find my son or die trying. And I won't let anything distract me until I have him in my arms again."

With the surprising speed, he jerked her up against him and kissed her, the same burning passion. Her body reacted on it's own, opening her mouth and returning, throwing her arms around his neck. She could taste the whiskey on his tongue, evidence that he'd been drinking, and smelt the same strong spicy scent he had. The low vibration of his groan sent her nerves blazing in response. She whimpered as he ground against her and he swallowed it up, then trailed his mouth down her neck to nip. "Yeah, that's what I thought, baby. You can't hide this from me," he murmured, warm breath sending chills down her spine. "I ain't no dandy, but I'll play your game. I can dance with the best of 'em." His fingers ran down her sides then he pushed her back and away. "I expect a silver costumed freak at my place tomorrow morning."

He turned away in a flash of red coat tails, grabbed his hat from the floor and strode off. She flinched as she heard the door 3 floors down slam and Clair screeched a curse at him. Oh god, what just happened? She touched her lips with a shaking hand. No one had ever made her feel quite like that after just one damn kiss. Not even Nate. It was impossible to deny there was something there. Not just the burning need to fuck like rutting Radstags in heat. Just the fact his presence alone was able to calm every frayed nerve down until that damn mouth was on her.

The door creaked open and RJ peaked his head out, locking onto her. Without saying a word, he came, gathered her up into his arms, and took her into the room. With everything dark, locked, and safe, she curled up next to her friend on that same old moldy mattress, head on his shoulder and cried. Loud harsh sobs echoed and all he could do was whispering calming words and pet her hair. It was more then she deserved.

* * *

"So we have to take out both these groups?" she mumbled around a mouthful of omelet, swallowed, and tapped a finger on the paper with more of Hancock's terrible hand writing. "I say we divide and conquer. I take the chick, you take the one that's terrified of little ole' me. I'm sure you can snipe them all down easy enough."

MacCready gave her a wary look from under that ridiculous Silver Shroud fedora and finished off his own meal. "I suppose I could do that. What about it needing to be done by the Silver Shroud?"

"You're my side kick. Easy enough." He let out a groan. "Fine. I'll be the side kick. Better?"

"Muuuuch. Just wait till I tell Duncan his pops is the great Silver Shroud!" The man mimed holding a submachine gun and made ra-ta-tat noises. Fay threw her spoon at him laughing.

Soon enough, her partner was outfitted in the rest of his costume and she with just a standard mask and they were hiking their way out. Everything was oddly quiet, no raiders rustling around or super mutants roaring. It was almost peaceful. They stopped halfway to split up and Fay stopped RJ with a hand on his arm. "Be careful. I don't want to have to run back and jam you full of stimpacks again, you hear?"

"Loud and clear. You do the same. There's no way we'll be able to find a third pair of your stupid glasses." She flicked a pebble at his head as he turned and trotted down a back alleyway to find a good perch. Her own destination was a bit closer, just a block down. Keeping close to the corners, she made her way down the sidewalks.

The loud crack of a rifle echoed across the whole Commonwealth and she froze, listening for anything else that stirred from the sound. Sounded like MacCready was already working. There were a few muffled voices that sounded fairly close by. She stopped and peered around the edge of a building and saw a group of four people, all huddled up around a lanky painted woman who was shouting. That must be Smiling Kate. She couldn't understand a word of it as the sound of more shots filled the air. All the raiders stopped and looked towards the sound, guns at the ready. Now was her chance.

The soles of her boots skidded on the rubble as Fay sprinted out and slid into the legs of the biggest one, sending him falling to the ground. Her power fist made quick work of his face, turning his head a mushy paste on the cracked concrete. The others turned quickly, realizing they were under attack. She curled her legs up and pushed up, knocking a rifle away and slamming her fist into a chest, grinning at the satisfying crunch as it caved. It was exhilarating to be this close, guns inches from her, and not have a single one touch her. She swung the body around and caught a few rounds, a stray bullet bouncing off the raider's metal chest plate and sent a spray of blood as it hit the dead man's friend right in the eye. That's three gone. The woman with the horrid face paint laughed and unloaded her entire clip at Fay, the other man beside her backing away slowly in fear.

There was no way she was going to let this bitch even get a single hit on her. Fay pushed the dead hulk towards the woman, starting her into stopping her shots to avoid the corpse. She took the chance and shot forward, nailing Kate in the face with her bare left fist, sending her falling on the raider on her ass. Another to punch to the chin and a few stomps to on her shoulder, the woman was laying on her back, keening in pain as her collar bone protruded from her skin.

Fay looked up at the last raider who was already high tailing it out of there, kicking up dust in his haste. She spit and knelt down beside the leader of the group. "So, you're supposed to be one of Sinjin's best? Pathetic." Kate just glared at her and ground her teeth in pain. "I suppose I can get this over with fast for you." She stood again, shot the dying woman in the face once and dropped a Silver Shroud card on her chest. A piece of paper was hanging from one of the many vest pockets and she fished it out. Order papers, hand signed by creep himself. For all of Hancock's worries, this Sinjin's people weren't even tough. They were no more trained then your usual raider.

The stroll back was leisurely, even gave her time to clean up her glasses as she went along. She hadn't heard anymore shots from across the way so MacCready had to be finished as well. Once at the crossroads, she spotted said man leaning against a bent lamp post, cleaning up his rifle. He didn't have a spot of blood him. Thank god. She didn't want to have to drag him back to Amari again and watch him get sewn up like a broken doll.

"That went well," she said and sat beside him and leaned her head against his knee. "You have any issues?"

"Not a one, boss," he chirped and dropped a holo tape in her lap. "I found this by Northy. Pop it in, I wanna hear it." Fay did so and they both cursed, hearing a gravely voice talking about Kent. These clowns were just distractions. They'd wanted Kent from the start! She pushed up onto her feet and both took off towards Goodneighbor.

The whole place was like a ghost town. Not a drifter in site as they rushed down the alleys and street to the brightly lit building. The door to the Memory Den was broken, swinging lazily from one hinge and one of the Neighborhood Watch dead against the wall beside it. Kent's room was a mess, broken cardboard cut outs smashed and scattered, a splash of blood and a dripping line trailing out. Fay chocked back tears and went back out into the main room and calling out for Irma, terrified the woman was also hurt. The soft rustle of her feathered dress echoed down the hall as said woman came out, obviously upset.

The den mistress took Fay's held out hand. "Oh, darling, they took him!"

"Who took him?" she asked urgently.

"Listen to his station. They left a message and it's been looping for hours." Her fingers shook as she turned the radio on, Pipboy lighting up the three of them as they crowded around to listen. The struggle, Kent's pleas, the shot fired, and some location laughed out by that same low gravely voice. Fay shaking fingers curled into fists as her anger brought heat to her face. That son of a bitch.

"We're leaving now, MacCready," she said through clenched teeth and started out the door. Irma called out a be careful behind them as her partner jogged to catch up.

"How do you want to do this," he asked, slowing to his long gait walk to keep pace with her light jog.

"I'll decide once we get there. We know he's at the hospital, and judging by every raider I've fought so far, they'll go as far from the entrance as physically possible hoping their initiates will get me bloodied up and tired. So either the roof or the basement. You ever been to this place?" Once outside the walls of Goodneighbor, their pace slowed as to not tire themselves out too quickly.

RJ nodded his head as he kept watch around them. "Yeah, once or twice to look around the for any goods with the Gunners. The top floor isn't reachable unless you want to blow through 10 feet of collapsed metal. The basement, shouldn't be hard to reach. There was some power left, a working elevator or two. Though I doubt you'll need it with how many holes there are in the ground. That was almost a year ago though. I'm not sure how it is now." As he spoke, she threw the mask off and shrugged on her leather coat. Extra protection was gonna be needed. If this Sinjin meany business, he'd have the bulk of his men around him for show. Bravado. Men were all the same.

"Good. Then he'll be at the bottom. The holes will make it easier to get down there."

Though it felt like it took all day, they arrived at the hospital just as the sky began to turn orange from the setting sun. The two stopped to prepare before heading in. As Fay chugged down a bottle of water, MacCready turned his back and rummaged through his own pack. Her curiosity got the best of her and she peaked over his shoulder. He glanced over at her and grinned as he held up a beautiful 10mm. A short silenced muzzle and iron sights, perfect for close range, and beautiful designs of birds carved along the sides. "That's gorgeous, RJ," she breathed and his eye lit up.

"I would hope so. Took me a two weeks to crave the thing." He turned to face her and held it out. "Here." She shook her head with her eyes filling up but he held up a hand before she could protest. "I made it for you. It's a thank you gift for all the help you've given me and well..." He trailed off, cheeks turning red. "You mean a lot to me, Fay. I don't know what I'd be if you hadn't come along." His hand wrapped around hers, placed the gun in it, and closed their fingers together.

Fay felt her own cheeks grow warm as he stepped closer, her head tilting up to stare wide eyed at him. Was he saying…? Oh god. Her heart speed up and she swallowed pitifully. There was something wrong with this Commenwealth and the men in it. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss that warmed her all over and made her toes curl. Leave it to her dear RJ to be so sweet and gentle, even though he had a highest kill count she'd ever seen. The kiss ended quickly and she sighed, opening her eyes slightly to see a silly smile on his face. The boys of this place were going to be the end of her.

"C'mon. We've got a ghoul to rescue," he said and ruffled her hair a bit before heading to the door. She shook her head, holstered the pistol, and did her best to clear her head. This was going to have to wait until later. Much later. Kent needed her now.

The lobby of the place was a disaster. Holes where blow everywhere, bits of ceiling, metal beams, plaster spray about, even the tiles of the floor where scattered. She was almost afraid to walk on the ground for fear of it collapsing. MacCready took the lead with sure footing and she scurried after, trying to keep up with his longer legs. They came to their first hole, leading down into what looked like a patient recovery room and the voices of raiders echoed up to them. The mercenary jumped down with ease but Fay hesitated at the edge. She really didn't like heights and that was at least an eight foot drop. He stopped and looked up at her, eyebrows raised in question.

"Did-eh, did I ever tell you that I'm scared of heights, RJ?" she called down, gripping her braid with her left hand.

"You've got to be kidding me, boss. This is a hell of a time to bring it up." He sighed and held out his arms. "Just jump. I'll make sure to catch you." With shaking arms, she lowered herself down, dangled from the edge and let go. The man's arms caught her around the waist and set her down gently. "That's wasn't so bad. Now, let's move." She nodded and did her best to steady he shaking limbs.

Again, he took the lead, crouched low and taking out any raiders before they even looked their way. A few more holes and one or two elevators later, they stood before the last one that MacCready knew about. Fay's guts were clenched up as she thought over what kind of situation could be set up down there. Finally, she turned to her partner with a stern look. "Give me the coat back."

He shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "No way, boss. You know they're gonna target whoever is wearing this thing. Better me then you. Plus, it's starting to grow on me. I feel pretty dandy." Her stern look turned to a frown and the man just crossed his arms.

"You have a child to worry about, RJ. Just give me the damn coat so I won't have your dead ass hanging over head."

"You have one too, so that's a shi-terrible argument."

The bones in her hand popped as she clenched them and pointed a finger at him. "Now is not the time to be playing hero, MacCready. Give me the fucking coat now or so god help me, I'll tie your ass up and send you on the first caravan back to the Capital Wasteland." He still didn't move. They didn't have time for this. Every second wasted, Kent could be dead. "Fine. Be that way. Don't blame me if you get shot."

She slammed her hand into the call button and stomped into the elevator, glaring at the blonde man as he slide in. Stupid, stubborn man! He shifted from foot to foot and opened his mouth but she held up a hand. "Not right now. We'll talk about this stupid decision later." His teeth clicked together as he frowned at her.

The door opened with a ping and they both crouched down, slipping down the corridor. Fay peeked out and saw a large, moderately lit storage room, cases and crates of medical supplies everywhere, and raiders. Only a handful but there was one figure that made her stomach clench. It was the biggest ghoul she'd ever seen perched on the landing of cement stairs. Not an ounce of muscle had been lost. His arms were bigger then her torso almost. Oh lord. MacCready let out a strangled noise behind, most likely at the hulking man as well.

Kent was on his knees, tied up, and the one she guessed as Sinjin, had the barrel of his rifle pressed to the poor man's head. A small pool of blood was dripping over the edge of the landing so whatever wound he'd taken before was still an issue. Sinjin was growling at all the men around him to hold, threats and the usual. Now, if she went in, guns blazing, Kent would die, no questions asked. She had to find a way to distract the boss, get him to shoot at her instead. Perhaps the simplest way was the best way. She'd use her silver tongue, as RJ called it.

With a deep breath, she stood and rounded the corner, removing the silencer from her new pistol and tucked it away. MacCready hissed at her and cursed when she didn't stop, following behind, to her dismay. She'd hoped he had enough sense to stay back and fucking snipe. All the raiders stopped what they were doing and aimed their guns at her. Sinjin, grinned and stood straight.

"Well well. Look who showed up! The Silver Shroud!" His head turned from herself to her partner behind her. "Why the fuck are there two of you? I asked for Shroud, not some pipsqueak bitch."

"I am Shroud, Sinjin. My side kick here decided to try out the costume." MacCready hissed again, a warning this time, at her but she just kicked a foot back and hit his shin. A silent plea to shut up. "Now, you have my friend there. What do you want?"

"What do I want? I want to kill you! You see these fools around me?" He waved an arm at the nervous and twitchy raiders around, their guns wavering as she looked at each. "They're scared shitless of you. They think you're some goddamn hero that popped right out of a comic book." The ghoul spit on the ground and growled. "It's bullshit. You're just another poor wasteland sap like the rest of us. You came all the way here just for this pathetic shit! I mean, look at him. You're both weak, soft, and you'll die for it." Kent cried out as the bigger ghoul stepped on whatever injury the man had.

"You think me coming here makes me weak? Friends are what make me strong, Sinjin. Having someone that won't stab me in the back, plot your death, that actually has loyalty. These _men_ you surround yourself wouldn't hesitate to turn on you in the blink of an eye," she said, voice low and dangerous.

His bark laugh echoed through the room. "Like any of that matters! I don't give a fuck about anyone or anything. If they so much as breath the wrong way, I'd kill 'em! I'm stronger then you because I'll do anything to win, to survive. Now." He pushed the gun more firmly to Kent's head. "I'm going to kill Kent. Paint the floor with his brains. Then I'm going to kill you and you're friend there to show everyone how pathetic you really are. Then we'll go to Goodneighbor. Maybe I'll torch the place. Drag out that bastard Hancock and make him watch as his little precious town burns to the ground." Fay could feel the anger send her blood to a boil. "No one fucks with Sinjin and I'm gonna make damn well sure everyone knows it."

"I won't let you lay a hand on anyone from Goodneighbor, you hulking piece of shit." The anger hit a point where her mind went clear, everything slowed down. Adrenaline kicking into over drive. She lifted her gun, aimed, and shot the bastard in the arm, twice, knocking the gun out of his hands and sending him to the ground. MacCready quickly joined in, taking out the others scattered around the room. It was over to quickly. It made her wary as she stalked up and knelt next to the fall ghoul.

His head had hit the edge of the concrete and more blood was pool under his neck as well has his mangled arm. "Well, that was easy enough. You're pathetic, Sinjin. I know ferals that were harder to take down then you," she said, giving him a toothy grin and letting the light reflect of her glasses to hide for eyes.

"Fuck you, bitch," he spat out and weakly lifted a huge revolver with his good arm she hadn't seen. She managed to pull her head back enough to only have the bullet drive a bloody groove through her cheek but her blood froze at the pained sound behind her. Praying it wasn't bad, she turned back to see MacCready holding a hand to his shoulder, a bright red spot blooming through that stupid silver coat. The ghoul laughed but it broke something in her. Fay snarled, turned back and slammed her fist as hard as she could into Sinjin's face. Over and over again, ignoring the hot blood that flew everywhere. She only stopped when he whole arm ached and the only sound coming from his pulpy face was a last wet gurgle.

"Boss, cmon, he's dead." RJ's weak voice broke the rage and tears filled her eyes. She hurried over to his slumped form and gently pushed him up straight to see the wound. It wasn't pretty. The hole was almost an inch entrance but the exit was worse, almost twice the size. Thankfully, it had missed his vitals but the damaged to the muscles was going to take a while to heal, not to mention the shattered collar bone as well.

Fay dumped her pack out and pulled out a spare shirt and a roll of bandages. Stimpacks would only do so much. She carefully peeled off the now ruined Shroud coat and began injecting stimpacks. "You're an idiot, you know that?" she whispered and wiped away a line of tears that were stinging the gouge in her cheek. "Always getting hurt, worrying me sick."

"Yeah, I know I'm pain in the as- butt," he managed to say and gave her a weak grin. "Say, how about we take some time off after this? I'm beat."

She slapped his good shoulder and gave a watery laugh. "You're gonna be laying in bed for at least a week after this. Just shut up and let me patch you up enough to get you into Amari's hands." She was now a bit more calm and had gotten the bleeding to at least slowed down to a manageable, she padded and wrapped him up with bandages.

"Fay, do you, eh, think you could untie me?" Her head jerked up at the sound of Kent's voice. She'd completely forgotten about the ghoul.

"Ah, shit, I'm sorry, Kent." she scooted over and cut the ropes from his wrists quickly, helping him up. His leg was where he was hurt but she could see where the enhanced ghoul healing had taken effect. It was still bleeding a bit, but healed almost closed. She knelt down and injected her last stimpack into the wound to seal it all the way. "Are you alright?" she asked and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"My leg still hurts but yeah. I'm good enough, I supposed," he answered, looking down at her with a broken face. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this, half pint. This crime fighting stuff, not anything like I thought it'd be. Dangerous, deadly. I mean, I almost got your friend killed! I-I can't do this anymore."

"You're gonna stop now? Oh, Kent, I know this is a mess, but we did good. Think about it. You and I took down the biggest threat to Goodneighor, hell, even a threat to the whole Commonwealth! We saved hundreds of lives by killing that bastard. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you, you lummox!"

"I-I suppose you're right..."

"Now, I'm not suggesting we do something like this again. It was pretty stupid. But let's work on another approach. And...Well, I say you bring Hancock into it. He's got a soft spot for costumed vigilantes and a mind for schemes." She gave him a big smile and straightened his dirty fedora. Kent returned it with a small, tired one of his own. "Can you walk?"

"He took a few steps and seemed steady enough. "Yeah, though it hurts."

"Good. Could I get your help lugging this giant back to Goodneighbor?"

"Sure, Shroud."

* * *

She was exhausted. It felt like she'd been on her feet for a week, not barely 12 hours. Fay was slumped in a chair in the Memory Den basement, watching as Amari began to piece MacCready's shoulder back together. He wasn't going to be using his right arm for a while, which meant her partner was down for the count. The time could always be used for other things. Like planning out how to get through the damn electronically locked doors and kill Kellogg.

The thump of feet on the stairs caught her attention and she turned her head to catch sight of the good mayor Hancock strolling in. Just what she needed right now. The ghoul stopped beside her chair and took a drag from the cigarette in his hand. "How's he doin'?" he asked and looked down at her.

"Not bad. The doc said he'll have full use of everything again but it'll take a while. Taking a shot that close from a fucking magnum, it did a lot of damage," she replied, rolling her head back straight, but winced when it jarred the wound on her face.

"You should get that taken care of, Vault girl."

"RJ is more important then my damn face," she growled, the tiredness giving way to aggravation and anger. The man had no room to say anything to her at this point.

He sighed and pushed his hat back on his head. "Let me fix it up then. It's the least I can do." She considered it. Her face did hurt, badly. The bullet had carved out a fourth of an inch from the right corner of her mouth to her ear, just missing her glasses. On their long trip back, it had filled with dust and dirt, caking it closed and stopped bleeding, but infection was a very real thing. It needed cleaning and stitching.

"Fine." The ghoul snuffed out his cigarette, pulled over a chair and a rolling stand covered in medical supplies, and settling down beside her. A bottle of her usual whiskey was placed in her lap. She ripped the cork out and swallowed down a few mouthfuls before handing it back over to him.

"How'd you get this?"

"Sinjin," she said and winced as he began wiping away the grime. "I thought he was down for the count but the bastard pulled a revolver in my face. As you can see, it didn't kill me, but RJ was too close behind and didn't see it coming. Went right through my face and hit him." Hancock hummed in thought and then poured a good shot of whiskey over her cheek. She could stop the yelp and hiss that came out. The whiskey in her stomach was already doing it's job to relax and numb, but it could only do so much.

The warmth and spice he gave off was settling into her, making her feel like jelly. How did he always manage to do that? She shouldn't feel this at ease, this safe around someone that pissed her off so much. Soon enough, she felt the pressure on her numb face of the needle and thread, gentle tugging as the skin was pulled back together.

"You're good now, doll. Though that'll be one wicked scar once it's done healing."

By then, Amari had finished up and walked over to the pair, drying her hands off. "He's all in one piece now, my dear," she told Fay and put her hands on her hips. "But I'm keeping him here for a day or two so I can make sure everything connects properly. Muscles can be tricky." She turned her motherly gaze to Hancock. "Get her to her room and make sure she rests." He nodded but Fay had other ideas.

"I don't need a babysitter, Amari, but thank you. I can get to the hotel on my own." She slowly pushed herself up and wobbled, almost falling on her face. The ghoul grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her upright again, laughing. The alcohol was working a lot better then she'd thought. "Okay, fine. Help me." Before she could do anything else, he'd scooped her up bridal style and was striding up the stairs and out. "I said help, not carry me, you ass!" she grumbled and weakly smacked at his chest.

"There's no way you're getting up any stairs with those legs and I don't have all night to wait on your slow ass," he returned, elbowing the door to Rexford open. He nodded at Clair and she grabbed a key and lead him up to the top floor. Soon they were in a room and Clair was slamming the door behind her. He set gently set her down on the bed, much to her surprise. "Now, don't go panicking on me. I'm gonna get you at least out of your boots, you dig?" he said softly, putting her pack on the floor beside her.

"Yeah yeah, bub," she mumbled and waved a lazy hand at him. Her mind drifted, half asleep as he went to work, partially undressing her. It felt kind of nice to have him taking care of her like a nanny. She giggled a bit. "You're surprising me, Mr. Mayor. You don't seem like the tender loveing care type, helping me out like this," she said towards him as he sat on the edge of the bed.

His hat and jacket were off, leaving just the worn white undershirt and a tired looking ghoul beneath. "You don't know that much about me, doll," he muttered, throwing a blanket over her. "Most people don't." She pulled the blanket down from her eyes when she didn't feel him pull away and caught the look of complete defeat on his face. It was then she really noticed just how bad he looked. He was withered, cheeks and eyes sunken, clothes hanging loose when they used to be taunt over muscle. Her heart broke a little. With the few times they had dealt with each other, she'd learned enough to know that this wasn't him. Maybe she was being too hard on him.

"John, what are you doing to yourself," she whispered and laid a hand on his cheek. His eyes closed and he slumped to rest his forehead on her shoulder, just as exhausted as she was. Fay scooted over to the far side of the bed and pulled him down beside her, keeping his head on her shoulder. Within moments, she could feel his breathing slow, the warm air brushing over her neck. He was asleep. She ran a finger along the side of his face, taking in how peaceful he looked this way. Sleep overtook her as well and she passed out, head leaning on Hancock's.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, I've been doing a bit of research and it turns out that John has the 2nd highest intelligence out of all the companions with a whopping 14 INT! How he manages to have a higher number then even Curie, I don't know. But dear Nick takes the highest with 16 INT, surprise surprise. I finally managed to get a job with more hours, so the updates will slow a bit. Sorry! I still want to thank you all for the reviews. It means a lot and helps out a ton with pushing through some of the harder parts to write. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was warm. Warm and soft, yielding under his finger tips. Best damn pillow he'd ever used. Hancock cracked an eye to look around. This wasn't the State House nor his bed. He sat up quickly and held a hand to his head as everything swayed a bit. The hell was he? Then something shifted and sighed beside him and it clicked. Rexford, the whole Sinjin situation. Fay.

Said woman was curled up beside him, sleeping soundly with her glasses askew on her face and mouth slightly open. He barely remembered bringing her up here, but nothing else. How did he end up in bed with her? Not that it was all that bad. He hadn't slept that well in years. A lot of the aches that had been adding up were gone, his head clear, if achy from the alcohol yesterday. He didn't even feel the need for a Mentat. He must have been a lot more tired then he'd thought, to just conk out here. Maybe it would be a good idea to just lay back and relax a bit more.

He removed the woman's glasses before she broke them rolling over, laid down on his side, and studied her now wire free face. He didn't understand her at all. Didn't understand why he reacted the way he did around her. One minute she'd been begging for a good roll with him then she bolts like startled Radstag. Daisy had explained that she was recently widowed. That shit takes time to get over. But she didn't answer any of the letters he'd given to the shop keeper and her many caravan connections. Sure, it'd been stupid of him to even send them in the first place. It had just been an urge he couldn't ignore.

Then the word spread around that she's paired up with MacCready, hunting down Gunners for him and rescuing old Nick Valentine. Her progress toward getting her son was on and he'd been left behind. It shouldn't have hurt, but it did anyhow. What did he need the acceptance of some stupid Vault girl that was running head first into danger constantly? She'd dropped him for some young dandy that still had a nose, hair, and didn't feel like warped leather. The rejection had hit hard and he couldn't get over it. Fahrenheit had teased and picked on him, but the thought wouldn't leave. Her face was constantly there when he closed his damn eyes, making sleep almost impossible.

So he'd turned to his only friend, chems. All the flavors of Mentats, jet, psycho, even got his hands on some turbo and day tripper. Binged every few days with enough scotch and whiskey to mummify a normal human. He'd been on a good kick when he'd heard she was back in town. He sent his second out to get her for a talk. Best clear the issues that were obviously there. But she didn't come. Instead it was the son of a bitch MacCready in the Silver Shroud get up that stepped into his office. It'd hit a nerve. She still refused to even so much as be in the same building as him. Had sent her new little toy instead of meeting him face to face, like she was taunting him.

The conversation with the younger man hadn't gone that well either. Sure, he'd been in a bad mood, but the one question was brought up. Fahrenheit had asked if the two were a thing, a couple. The smug bastard just looked him right in the eyes, grinned, and said "I'd like to think so. She's a real dream." He snapped. How could he not? There was no way she'd jump with him, some ex Gunner sack of shit. The shotgun was in his hand before he could think and he blew a hole inches above the mercenary's head. His aim had been off, unfortunately. The coward ran and he followed him right to her.

When she'd come out of that door in nothing but a shirt and that stupid coat, it was too much. God, they didn't make 'em like that anymore. Perfect pale skin with legs you could just spend all day nibbling on if you had the chance. She'd obviously been sleeping with the lack of glasses, dazed green eyes, and hair everywhere but she couldn't have been more appealing to him. It was an odd mixture of need to fuck and another part to scoop her up and whisper all that terrible shit from the songs Travis blared all day long. If anyone deserved to be wooed and courted, it was her. Until she'd hit him. To be perfectly honest, he'd deserved it, but all it did was drive home the point that she'd picked that smooth skin over him.

But once he'd gotten her in his arms, she was like lightning, man. Lit up and sent his nerves into overdrive. It took everything he had to not bend her over right there and show her who actually got her going like she needed. Instead, he left. Gave her a taste of her own medicine and a promise. If she wanted to play games, keep him dancing like a fool, he'd play. And he would win. No one beat John Hancock.

His thoughts were interrupt as she stirred and opened her eyes, looking a bit surprised at him. "You're still here," she whispered and blinked a few times. A smile tugged at his lips and he nodded at her. "Good." Her own lips curved into a small smile, hair that had come loose from her braid falling over her face. "I just want to thank you for your help last night. And to apologize for...everything, I suppose. That night, at the State House. It was just...too soon." Her fingers touched the chain around her neck, two wedding rings glinting dully. "And for the slap. Hitting-

He stopped her with a hand. "Forget it, doll. I kinda went to far with the whole shooting thing at your little boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," she said with a frown.

"Well, he thinks otherwise." The woman tsked and sat up. "Don't worry about it. We're solid now. Or as solid as two fellas after the same dame can be." Her face turned a gorgeous shade of pink at those words.

"I'm not a some sort of trophy, ya know!" She straightened up and glared down at him.

"I never said you were. But you started something here and I'm gonna finish it," he said lowly and sat up as well, able to look down on her again. "That bastard doesn't deserve a bird like you."

Her tongue peaked out as she licked her lips then bit down on her bottom one. The sight of it sent his blood pooling down. "That's not for you to decide, John," she said and gripped her hand around the unraveling braid, a nervous habit he was beginning to notice more. "A-and I have other things that I have to focus on. If it comes down to it, I'll give you both a good kick in the ass and get Shaun on my own. I can't afford-"

Hancock cut her off. "I know the kid is top priority, love. He's your son, so I want to find him too." She started shaking her head but again, he stopped her, anger starting to bubble up. It hurt to once again have her turn him down. "Let me help, god damn it. Why do you throw every offer I give back in my face? Am I that disgusting to you? Can't handle a ghoul, with your delicate prewar senses?" His voice raised and he turned from her to get up and leave.

"No! No, that's not it at all. For fuck's sake, Hancock, I don't want you to get hurt!" she cried out and grabbed her arm to stop him. "Did you not see what happened to RJ? I couldn't handle if something like that happened to you too." She paused and swallowed, voice getting thick with tears. "I'm already so close to just sending him back home to his son now that we found the cure. I refuse to burden others with my problems anymore."

He turned back to her, brows low in aggravation. "Well, tough luck, sister. I offered and you're gonna take it, whether you like it or not." She flushed even more, now a bright shade of red. He couldn't tell if it was anger or what, but it suited her either way.

"Can you hack?" she asked after a moment, fingers still twisting her hair.

"Better then most, if you can believe it. I spent a lot of time when I lived in Diamond City picking apart those terminals to sneak around where I shouldn't go. Best places to take the ladies."

Fay went silent and furrow her brow in thought, eyes flickering between him and her fidgeting hands. It was kinda cute. "Fine."

"Perfect. When do we leave?" Those same brows lifted at him in surprise.

"You want to go with me now? What about Goodneighbor? The mayor can't just up and leave."

The ghoul leaned back on the bed, hands behind his head and a big grin on his face. "This one can. I've been gettin' soft, anyhow. I'm letting this power get to my head. It's time I get out there again, roughin' it and the like. I'm the best muscle you can find. People are scared and respect me for a reason, doll." A look of fear flicked over her face and his stomach clenched a bit. Why would she be afraid of him? "Hey now, don't be giving me that look. I'm gonna be watching your back. Anything we find, it's going down, no questions asked. You ain't got nothin' to worry about." She slowly nodded her head.

"We should talk about a few things first. Like boundaries," she said, finally undoing her braid and running her fingers through her hair to comb it. It was his turn to raise a brow at her.

"What 'cha mean?"

"No more of...well, what happened the other night." Fay turned red just mentioning the situation and his grin grew wider.

"Hmm. The other night… Do you mean like this?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his chest, hand cupping the back of her head to bring her mouth just centimeters from his. Her breath came out in short pants, the contact alone speeding up her pulse. He could hear it and feel it in her wrist, thumping under his fingers. "Why do you want to avoid this? I can tell you like it," he murmured, ghosting his lips along her cheek and feeling her shiver.

The woman couldn't manage to speak, just whimpered a bit and closed her eyes as his tongue flicked the pulse at her throat. God, it was so good to just feel her on him. But he wasn't finished with her yet. He flipped them over, forearms framing her head and a knee settled between her legs. The warmth from her was already going right through to his leg and he felt his cock harden. A thought passed through his head. If she'd been frozen up for over 200 years, she must be the tightest dame in the whole Commonwealth. He hide his face in her hair and groaned at his own imagination, though her grinding down on his leg wasn't helping either. Damn, she was eager.

He lifted his head enough to meet her eyes and felt the stirrings of things other then his cock. The heart was talking and he was forced to listen. She was beautiful, with her half lidded bottle green eyes and skin getting more flushed by the second, highlighting the still seeping wound on her face. Damn his conscious! This wasn't what she needed right now. He sealed his lips to hers in a brief but soft kiss, taking his time for once to just taste her, then rolled off. There would be other times to push her so called boundaries.

Without a word, he pulled his boots, coat, and hat back on. She was silent as he did so, not moving at all. He looked back once he was ready and saw her holding some fingers to her lips, looking a bit dazed. He felt his chest puff out a bit, pride in his ability to daze the ladies. "I've got to get a few things set up before we head out, doll. Meet me at the office when you're ready?"

She started a bit and gave him a nod with a small smile. It was a start, he supposed.

* * *

"Aw, fu-crud, boss. What happened to your face?" Fay grimaced a bit as RJ reached up to lightly touch the stitches on her cheek. She was perched on a chair beside his bed in the Memory Den, decked out in her gear, prepared to meet Hancock. She didn't have the heart to tell him she was leaving yet. Her eyes looked over him, checking for any progress. His color was better but he still couldn't so much as sit up without flinching at the pain, even through a good dose of Med-X.

"I got it from the same bullet that took you out, mister. Now, stop moving around and rest or I'll lash you down."

"Oooh, you wanna tie me up? I didn't know you were that kind of girl." She couldn't stop the smile that pulled at her lips and poked him in the chest, just under the bandages. "Ow ow, okay okay. I'll shut my trap." He paused, taking in her gear. "You goin' somewhere?" Guilt twisted her guts and she looked away, hand grabbing onto her braid. "That's what I thought. Where?"

"The Fort," she said softly. "I found a hacker that can get past those doors we got stuck on."

MacCready growled and struggled to sit up. Fay gave a start at the pain on his face and she stood to try and keep him down. He gave up with a grunt of anger and pain, settling down and glaring at her. "You're just gonna leave me here? We're a team, Fay. You don't know how relentless this Kellogg is. I've crossed paths with him once or twice and the fu- guy about kill me each time. I only survived it because of Gunner backup. You need me there!"

"I don't want to do it, RJ, but I have to! It's been almost a whole week since we were there. What if he finishes whatever job he's on and leaves? I need to get him now while I still know where he is." She paused and shifted from one foot to the other nervously. Maybe she could keep it from him. Just a bit longer, until he was healed enough to not let the anger cause more damage. "I have help, anyhow. My back will be covered."

Dread turned her stomach as he froze, his face going blank and steely. It was the face he put on to hide. "You've found someone to replace me already? Who?" His voice was tiny and wavered at the question. Fay shook her head at him and felt her heart break a little more. She couldn't tell him.

"It's not like that at all and you know it," she said, avoiding his second question. "I'm coming right back here when it's done. I can introduce you to Shaun and-and we can just relax here for a while until you're all healed up."

He took her hand and held it tightly. Their eyes met and she felt her face flush at the intensity of his gaze. Why did he have to keep looking at her like that? He was too good for her, too sweet and kind. With a gentle tug, he pulled her into a one armed hug, face hidden in her neck. His hot breath sent goosebumps over her skin. "Just be careful, please."

A knock on the door startled them apart. Hancock was standing in the door way, a smoking cigarette in his lips and bag over his shoulder. He looked a bit bored as he leaned against the door frame, but managed to settle into a handsome pose none the less. "You ready yet, love? We'd better be heading out soon if we want some day light left when we get there," the ghoul asked and snubbed the fag out, flicking it to the side.

"Him? You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Fay started at MacCready's language, surprised at him for breaking his promise. "There is no way in hell I'll let him go with you alone!" More curses flowed out as he struggled to sit up again but she placed her hands on his chest and forced him back down.

"Damnit, MacCready, stop it or you're gonna hurt yourself more!" she yelled and let out a huff of anger once he stopped again. "I know you don't like it but you're gonna have to deal with it. He's my best bet of getting in and out of there alive with you out of commission. I can't bring Shaun back here on my own."

There were steps behind her and a hot arm draped over her shoulders. "Don't sweat it, kid. I'll keep her good and safe," Hancock said, the grin in his voice hard to miss. His arm trailed down to settle on her waist, but she slapped it away and punched him in the chest, scoffing in aggravation. He backed away with his hands up in surrender and laughed as he retreated to the other side of the room.

Fay looked back down and met RJ's hurt gaze. She swallowed thickly and let out a long breath. In one move, she pulled out the pistol he'd made for her and held it out to show. "I have this with me. If you trust me and the work you put into it, you know I'll be safe."

The man finally gave a sigh and nodded, leaning forward a bit to glare at Hancock. "You better take good care of her, Hancock. Or you'll find a bullet in your head before you even realize it's coming," he growled.

"Yeah yeah," the ghoul said, looking disgruntled. "She'll be the safest and most satisfied dame in the Commonwealth."

As Fay stood up and holstered the pistol, the mercenary grabbed her arm, yanked her down, and gave her a searing kiss. It was bruising, rushed, but she could feel the worry and care he poured into it. It warmed her all over. Until she was pulled back and a dark faced Hancock was dragging her out the door. The last look she got of RJ's face was one of smugness and content. Damn it to hell. He'd done that just to piss Hancock off. Now she really did feel like the prize for a pissing contest.

Once outside the building, she managed to pull herself from the ghoul's death grip and huffed. "You over reacted a bit there," she grumbled and straightened her jacket and pack. The man paced in front of her, growling under his breath to himself. Obviously he was still riled. She snagged the sleeve of his coat and pulled him to a stop, flinching a bit as he turned those angry eyes on her. "Calm down."

"Like hell I'm calming down. That bastard!" A tin of Mentats came out and he crunched down on a tab before stowing it away. It seemed to bring him down a notch, but those eyes were still intense and on her. He wanted to retaliate, she could feel it but he held back, the tension in his shoulders. More and more, he was showing restraint and control. It warmed her heart.

She smiled at him and wound her arms around his neck, causing him to lean down to her level. "Just breath, John. It's not that big of a deal." He grumbled in reply but the anger was gone, a tight look of aggravation in it's place. Fay stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth but he had more ideas and gave her a more substantial kiss. They only broke apart when a near by Watch let out a wolf whistle at the two.

He flicked the man off behind his back and gave her a half smile. "Not that I'm complainin', but what was that for?"

"To help you calm down. I really don't want to spend all day walking with a grumpy ghoul," she said and grinned as he started to pout. "Now, let's get going. It's already noon."

* * *

It took less time to get to the Fort this trip, now that she knew where she was going. The huge building loomed out of the late evening fog, the cooler weather finally showing it's teeth as the sun lowered. Fay stopped and clenched her jaw, feeling the tension settle in her frame. It was finally time to take that bastard down and get her son back. Hancock stopped behind her, following her gaze to the still solid fort. "You ready for this?"

She nodded her head and fit her power fist on, flexing fingers over the trigger. He strode past her, shotgun in hand and a grin on his face. The sight sent a shiver down her spine. She'd never seen him like this before. They'd always been within the relative safety of Goodneighbor and he was laid back, usually high as can be. Now she could see why everyone was intimidated by him. And he hadn't even fired a shot. She shook the thoughts away and jogged after him.

The maintenance door on the roof was still wide open and they dropped through, silently tracking her path again. Strangely, there were no new synths to replace the broken ones. They hadn't even been picked over for any good parts leftover. She wasn't sure if it was a good sign or not.

Soon they came to what looked like a surveillance room, the lone security terminal blinking from the pillar. She walked up to it and frowned. This was the damn thing that had made so many set backs. Hancock leaned over her shoulder, chest pressed to her back and hummed at the machine. "This the one? How did you guys have issues with this thing?" She glanced up at his grinning mug and shot an elbow back, thumping his sternum. He laughed and nudge her to the side, starting to tap away at the keyboard.

"RJ's knowledge on computers or software is comparable to that of a deathclaw," she grumbled, turning around to watch his back. "And I'd broken my glasses when a synth managed to jump me from behind. Wired bastard ripped 'em right off, threw on them on the ground, and stomped! I couldn't make out the difference between a computer screen and a window by that point. Plus I'm not that great with this stuff either. If it's harder then a personal terminal, it's past my skill level."

He chuckled and slapped one last key. The door to the cage room creaked open and a ding rang for the elevator as the call button flickered to life. "Well, it's a good thing you brought me along. This shit is eeeasy," he crooned and strolled over to the now open door. There wasn't much but ammo and a stimpack or two. She let the ghoul take it all and smacked the call button, watching the machine groan and creak up to their floor. Looked like they'd be heading down. She frowned as elevator arrived and the doors squealed in protest to open. "That can't be good," Hancock said, cautiously stepping into it. The whole thing shifted to the left, shaking dust everywhere. "Best get in quick, doll. We should use it before it falls apart." He held out a hand to her and beckoned her forward.

"What if it does it while we're in it," she said, voice getting higher pitched. "Maybe there are some stairs nearby?" He raised a brow at her and wiggled his fingers again. "Oh, fine! But if we die, I'm gonna make your after life a living nightmare." The woman slipped in beside him and pushed the only button on the wall, holding her breath as the door slowly closed again. The elevator made more noises of protest and finally began a deathly slow descent. Fay closed her eyes and held onto the metal pole along the wall with a death grip.

"Relax," Hancock said, prying her hand from it and giving it a pat. But he spoke to soon as there was a loud metal twang and the tiny room began to shake, hard. Her heart lodged itself in her throat as it began to speed up.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," she managed to squeak out as she turned to latch onto his arm. He tugged her closer and they both braced themselves. They were throw into the opposite wall and then the floor when the car crashed into the ground. Metal panels and debris raining down onto Hancock's back as he huddled over her. Once everything settled, Fay let out a loud groan. "I told you, Hancock. Ah, fuck, please get off me."

"I'm getting' too old for this shit," he complained and pushed himself up, a tile sliding off his back and clattering to the ground. She pulled herself up from the railing and brushed off the worst of the dust.

"You're not that old. Hush."

"Doll, you don't even know"

She paused and squinted up at him. Maybe it had to do with the ghoul thing, but he didn't look that old. Standing on her toes, she blew some dust off his shoulders and straightened his hat. "Whatever you say, Mr. Hancock."

"Will ya cut it with the mister stuff? I ain't-aw shit!" Before she could blink at his sudden stop, the ghoul yanked her to the far side of the elevator and right out of the way of a blue laser. "Company," he growled, pulling a puffer of jet out and taking a hit. "Cover me. Take out anything that I miss."

Fay pulled on her power fist again and charged out after him, keeping low and under any spread from the buck shot. While he unloaded a few rounds into the synths, she slammed her weapon into the gun of the turret. The steel crumpled and sparks sprayed out everywhere, but no more bullets came out. She took in the area a bit more and quickly spotting a group of three synths trying to flank her new partner. A steel pipe was within reach so she grabbed it and sent it wheeling into the closest one's legs, breaking a knee rotor and sending it toppling to the ground. It took another synth with it as it flailed. Not loosing a second, the woman followed it and stomped on the robot's head once, twice, then kicked second fallen synth's pistol from it's hands. The third and still standing one turned, the speaker in it's head garbling out Kellogg's name and she hissed. So the bastard was involved with the Institute!

The anger boiled up at the knowledge and her mind went blank. These fucking scientist assholes were going to pay! She pinned the fallen synth's neck to the floor with the heel of her boot, dropped her fist, and pulled out the pistol MacCready had made for her. Time to put this thing to use. Half the clip went into the face of the still walking wired bastard and she emptied the rest into the pinned one, pulling the trigger even after it was just clicking.

A low whistle snapped her out of it and she looked over to see Hancock leaning against a wall, smoking shotgun over his shoulder and a wolfish grin on his face. "Damn, doll, you weren't kidding about being able to handle yourself. That was hot."

Fay blushed, holstered the gun and grabbed up the power fist. She didn't have time to be distracted by him. "Yeah, thanks. Let's go," she said and pushed past him, ignoring the shrug he gave as he followed. She made a quick round of a room filled with generators, throwing a pack of Mentats at the ghoul and pocketed whatever random bits she saw that could be used for repairs. Beside the tool bench was a nice big hole in the reinforced cement wall. Through it was a set of stairs. Great, he was another one that liked to hide out in the ground. Why was it always under ground or in tunnels?

As soon as they reached the bottom of the steps, a voice echoed over a speaker system. "Well, look who came back. I thought you'd given up entirely. What a good mommy you are, bringing a big bad ghoul to help take care of your son." Kellogg.

"Come out and face me, you son of a bitch!" she yelled, looking around for cameras. There were none and she growled, slamming her power fist into the wall. "Fucking hell, we need to go faster." Without even looking back for Hancock, she charged down the rest of the stairs, taking out the turret before it even had time to get a single shot off, and kicked open the double doors a few feet from that.

"As nice as it sounds, I don't really want to play family with you or you're little pet. Why don't you turn around and head back to where you came from." His voice again, with more snide remarks.

"Go fuck yourself," she yelled and looked around the new room. Computers, panels, electronics all over the place. There was more to this fort then she'd originally thought. But there was nothing of interest so she continued down the stairs. At the bottom was a dark hallway but she could make out the tiny lights on the synths as they roamed around at the other end. If she was quiet and took her time, she could be on them before they even realized it.

"I'm rather impressed you got here. I expected you to die long before you came this far. I guess whoring yourself out to the mayor of a shit hole came in handy." Her blood boiled at that comment. Whore? She wasn't a fucking whore. A hand grabbed her shoulder before she could move forward again. She grabbed their wrist, flipping them over her shoulder and onto their back. She twisted and followed them over, straddling their chest and holding her fist an inch from a nose less face. Hancock looked up at her with wide eyes then at the power fist, and back again.

"As hard as you're gettin' me right now, I don't think this is the best place," he wheezed and pushed the fist away with a finger. Fay flushed in embarrassment and rolled off him.

"Oh god, I'm sorry. I didn't even hear you behind me!" She helped him up and pulled them back around the corner, patting him down for any injuries. The ghoul swatted her hands away and slapped a hand over her mouth, pointing at the hallway. The monotone voices of the synths echoed down. They were looking for them. Fay pulled Hancock's hand from her face and lean out, peeking around. It was a straight shot hallway. They could funnel them down towards them. She dropped her pack and pulled out a grenade, grinning at Hancock when he chuckled.

"I like how you think. Allow me." The ghoul took another hit from the jet in his pocket and jumped out into the open. "'ey, you plastic fucks! I'm over here!" He fired a shot or two, managing to take out one, then ducked behind another big computer. She gave the explosive an underhanded lob and hide again. The grenade gave out a loud boom and a synth head shot past her, smashing into the opposite wall. "All clear, doll!"

Stepping over scattered metal body parts, the two made their way to the end finding another electronically locked door and another path that lead to what look like living quarters. One room filled with bunks and another damned terminal. Hancock went to work on that while she rummaged through the bins at the end of each bunk. With more handfuls of ammo in her pack, she peeked over his shoulder, reading over the mass of text on the screen. "Turret controls? Niiice."

"You bet 'cha. Give me one second and..." He hit enter one last time and there was an a series of electronic beeps as the machines kick on in the hall. The broken warble of a synth was cut short as the turrets immediately fired, destroyed whatever was down the ways and shut down again. "Now it's safe."

They followed the hall, scavenging as they went. Kitchen, office, really nice private quarters. Hancock made a few dirty suggestions about the large, comfortable looking bed in the middle of it. Kellogg tried a few more times to taunt and soon warn her away, but at this point, she tuned him out. There was nothing he said to stop her from getting her son back. Soon they found themselves at another locked door in a circular room. It was scattered with guns, ammo, medical supplies, and more of those damn cigars the monster loved so much.

"You don't listen to well. Fine. I'll answer your death wish. I'm up ahead. Door should open now."

Fay stiffened as the door swung open on its own. Everything was coming to a close. Everything sharpened as she focused, becoming hyper detail, as if she'd swallowed a whole tin of Mentats in one go. This was it. Hancock's warm hand wrapped around hers, jerking her from staring at the door. Those long fingers slid up her arm and cupped the side of her face. She met his gaze, eyes watering from the mix of emotions. His own were serious but worried. "What's goin' on in that head of yours?" he asked softly.

"I'm going to kill him," she answered, biting her bottom lip. "I-I have to do this. For Nate, for Shaun."

"I'll be behind you every step of the way, love. Now, when we find Shaun, I want you to get him right away. I'll handle Kellogg." She shook her head and he grabbed the other side of her face as well, framing her. "Don't argue with me, Fay. Your son needs you." The tears finally fell and she chocked down a sob. "You hear me?" She nodded and pulled away, leaning her head on the wall until the tears stopped. God damn, he couldn't do this. She wasn't going to let him get himself killed for this. No way in hell.

The quiet hiss of an inhaler filled the room as the ghoul finished off the jet and she watched him throw it over his shoulder, shaking his shoulders loose as the drug kicked in. When he noticed her watching, he grinned and held out the almost empty tin of Mentats. She took it and emptied the whole thing in her mouth. She needed every bit of help she could get. "Fuck, doll, let's get this shit started before I just lock us up and have my way with you," he groaned, taking his shotgun and heading through the door.

All of the lights clicked and buzzed on, filling the huge room with light. Rows of cubicles, computers, and chairs everywhere, creating a maze. One filled with synths and a deadly mercenary. Kellogg stepped out, giving her a slow clap around the revolver in his hand. "Well, here we are. Face to face at last, no glass between this time." He lent a hip against a nearby desk, folding his arms and looking her over. "You look pretty good all things considered. Now, let's have a chat, shall we?"

Fay stopped a few feet from him, ignoring the many laser pistols pointed at head. "Chat? You've got to be fucking me. I didn't come here to chat, Kellogg. I came for my son! Where is he?!" she snarled, fists clenched and her face turning red.

"Now now. No need to raise your voice. Shaun, good kid, but he's not here and defiantly not the way you think. A bit...older then you last saw him."

"I know. But I don't give a fuck. Where is he?"

"As I just said, he's not here. No happy ending, no tears of joy. He's far away, somewhere happy and safe, where you'll never reach him. The Institute is taking real good care of him. Better then you ever did."

"Do you think that will stop me? I don't care if I have to go to the ends of the earth, I will find them, kill every last one of those pieces of shit, and get my son," she hissed, pulling the pistol from her hip and aiming it at his head. "Now, tell me how to get there."

"Are you deaf? Have you not been listening to anything people have said? You can't find the Institute. They find you. Ah, it doesn't matter. So, you ready to do this?" The man stood, spinning the barrel of his revolver and grinning.

"More ready then you think, Kellogg. Make your peace." Both Hancock and her self opened fire, taking out the closest synth and then ducked together behind a computer. The metal soon grew hot as it soaked up the laser shots flying around. Before Hancock could make a move, she bolted away from him, charging at Kellogg. The mercenary fired a shot at her, clipping her hip, but she ignored the hit and tackled him. They both hit the ground hard and she managed to get her hands around his neck. "You're going to be the first person I enjoy killing in this hell hole, Kellogg," she growled tightening her grip as he managed to get his hands around her wrists, trying to tug her off.

A hit to the head sent her falling off, smacking into the metal desk close by. She scrambled onto all fours, shaking the stars from her eyes. A synth let out a low burst of static from it's half smashed head, hot buck shot stuck in the melted plastic of it's face. It's pistol has a splatter of blood on it and she felt a line of hot liquid drip down her face. The thing had knocked her off. Her lips pulled back in a feral grin as she pulled out her power fist. In one smooth move, she stood, charged, and knocked the rest of the head off the machine, watching it crumple to the ground in a shower of sparks. She glanced down, expecting to see the downed man moving away, but there was nothing. A flicker in her peripheral caught her attention as something circled around her. "God damnit, Fay, what did I tell you!" Hancock roared and bashed in the head of another synth with the stock of his weapon. "He stealthed. Watch your back!"

A warning too late as something wrapped around her neck from behind, cutting off her air flow. She let out a chocked cry, instinctively clawing at what felt to be an arm. "I should of put a bullet in you head when I had the chance, Jones. At least I can do it now," Kellogg said in her ear, putting a pistol to her temple. Frantically, she kicked out her foot, stomping her heel down on his foot. The man cursed and whipped her head with the side of the revolver, drawing another stream of blood.

"Drop her, Kellogg, or I'll blow your head off." Hancock growled close by. He stiffed behind her, arm loosening just enough for her to catch a few shallow breaths.

"Why should I, peeler? You think I'm scared of you?" With him distracted, Fay twisted and slipped from his arms, pulling her own weapon out again and aiming it at his face. Hancock was just behind him, shotgun pressed firmly against the back of his head. The ghoul locked eyes with her and nodded.

"Drop the gun, Kellogg," she said as calmly as possible. His face twisted in rage but he did as asked. Fay grabbed it quickly, tucking it into a pocket, gun still trained on him. "Any thing you'd like to say before you die?"

"Nothing for a corpse fucker like you, bitch," he snarled and she pulled the trigger. Blood sprayed everywhere, coating her and Hancock. They stood, silent for a minute, both panting and staring at the dead man. It was done. Kellogg was dead. She had thought it would have made her happy, a victory towards justice or at least revenge. And eye for an eye. But she just felt cold and sick. He hadn't had Shaun. She still didn't have her baby. The tears welled up but didn't fall.

Finally, Hancock threw down his gun and pulled her into his arms. "You insane, dangerous woman. Fucking hell! I about had a heart attack when I saw he had you." He cursed a bit more, chin resting on the top of her head. With her face pressed against his chest, the red coat soaking up the still bleeding head wounds, Fay felt her heart settle. His body heat warmed her to the bone. The ache faded away and she was able to take a deep breath.

"Thank you, John," she mumbled, too tired to lift her head as the adrenaline faded. Her arms and legs felt like jelly but she weakly stood on her own, pulling from his arms. "Let's go find a place to rest. I'll deal with this mess when I don't feel like I've ran ten miles in one go." She gave him a wobbly, but hopefully reassuring smile.

The ghoul let out a sigh and nodded. She wobbled over to the stairs and up, backtracking to the master suite. With everything dead or broken, it must be safe enough to at least sleep here. They were in no shape to trek all the way back to Goodneighbor. She dropped her pack and weapons, stepping up to the mirror on the wall and looked at herself. Her face was a mess. The stitched gash had broken open slightly, joining in the blood on her face from the other cuts just above her temple from being pistol whipped twice. The bruising around it was just starting to turn a brilliant purple and she could barely move her eyebrow without a shooting pain. She injected a stimpack along her scalp, watching the wounds slowing fade to fresh red scars and pulled the stitches out. She tugged down her pants a bit and added another to the shallow wound on her hip as well.

Hancock's coat rustled as he slipped into the room and locked the door behind him, throwing his own things to the ground with a tired sounding growl. He hadn't come out of the fight without a scratch himself. The seams around his shoulders were failing, loose threads dangling from the red fabric and he had a few burn marks on his chest. Laser hits. It was even more obvious once he flopped in a faded stuffed arm chair and sprawled, long limbs stretched out as he tried to relax. She went to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He cracked an eye and looked up at her. "What's up, doll?"

"I need you to take your coat and shirt off, John."

"Mmm, isn't it a bit fast to jump right into that? I'm beat." She glared at him and dangled a stimpack from her fingers. "Ah, my beautiful nurse, come to tend my wounds!" He sat up and shirked the layers, leaning back to give her room to work.

"Is there any thing other then the burns?" she asked, running her fingers lightly over the puckering burns. He hissed and nodded his head at his arms. She looked those over to find bruises and a good amount of swelling. "I'll do two just to be safe." She quickly injected the medicine and watched as the damage faded, leaving scars and hardened muscle as it was. Before she could stand straight again, he took her braid in his hands, pulling the tie out and playing with the ends as it slowly unraveled. She felt her face grow warm at the contact. It felt extremely personal to have someone touch her hair like that, but she didn't stop him.

With his fingers still tangled in her locks, he caught her eyes with his. "How ya feelin'?"

"Okay," she said without thinking. It was the truth. "I was hoping to feel...something from killing him. Be happy for justice well served. Mostly, I'm just tired. I'm a bit at a loss at how to get to Shaun..."

"We'll figure something out, love." He tugged on her hair and giving a small smile. "For now, let's test out that bed. This old man is beat!"

As they hobbled to bed, the woman clicked her tongue at him, and shook the dust from the blankets. "You keep making it sound like you're a hundred. How old are you really?" she asked, watching him climb in and groan in comfort.

"You askin' a man his age, doll? I'm mortified!" He threw his arm across his face for dramatic flare and she laughed as she climbed in beside him.

"You bet your ass I am. So spill."

The ghoul wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. The heat from him was soothing beyond belief without the layers of clothes in the way and she just curled up against him, her head on his shoulder. "Way to work the charm. I'm thirty nine, about to turn forty in a few weeks. Old enough to be your pops."

"How old do you think I am?"

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that. Sayin' anything about a dame's age is a one way ticket to an empty bed or a gun aimed at me," he protested, giving her a squeeze.

"I'm serious," she said, leaning up on an elbow to look down on him. "Tell me what you think."

Hancock hummed as he took her chin in his hand, tilting her face to the side. "Twenty? Shit, I don't know. You're a lot different from the dames that were raised in the Commonwealth, love."

A grin pulled at her mouth and she shook her head. "Want to guess again?"

"Just tell me. The tension is killin' me!"

"Twenty eight. It takes a while to get a law degree so I wasted many a year in college." His eyes bugged out a bit at the comment and she laughed, laying back down against him. "You're only a year or two older then Nate, by the way."

"Hmmm, so you got a thing for older guys, eh? That's a point for me," he said, fiddling with her hair again.

"I suppose so. I think RJ might be younger then me. Oh god, now I feel old."

He let out a gravely laugh. "We'll be old coots together." She let out a yawn and nodded, still smiling. "Now, let's get some rest." He plucked her glasses off, put them to the side and they finally closed their eyes to get some much needed sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait! Been very busy with a new job. I was actually planning on making this chapter a lot longer but I didn't want to make you wait any longer. I really appreciate the feedback. I had a few issues writing some parts of this but the reviews helped. Enjoy!**

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So Shaun really wasn't here. Fay sighed as she tapped through Kellogg's terminal. Out of the many reports saved, the main one to stand out was an Institute agent retrieving Shaun. Where was she supposed to look now? No one knew anything about the Institute. Who are they? Where were they hiding out? How in the world did they manage to make synths? She chewed on her lip in thought and turned the machine off, pushing the chair back a bit to stretch her legs out. The panic started to creep up in the back of her mind. How was she supposed to accomplish something that the entire Commonwealth couldn't in decades? The goal was unreachable at this point… The tears started up and she sniffed heavily.

Two warm hands slid onto her shoulders, causing her to yelp and spin her chair around. Hancock lifted a brow at her and held up his hands in peace. He had a cigar in his mouth this time, one of the many Kellogg kept around. The smell was a good one. She could see why he liked them. "Find anything useful," he mumbled around the cigar, leaning over her to tap at the terminal, acting like he didn't see as she wiped away the tear stains from her cheeks.

She moved back to give him room and grunted. "Nothing he didn't already tell us. I'm at a loss. How am I supposed to fight against the fucking Institute? That's like trying to catch Santa Claus or the goddamn tooth fairy!"

"The fuck is a tooth fairy?" he asked and gave her a bug eyed look.

"I'll tell you later. Fucking hell!" Her foot connected with the metal desk, rattling the whole thing and causing Hancock to grumble some more. She pushed up from the chair and paced the room, pulling on her braid. "I just don't know what to do, John. I hate this. Not knowing where to even start!" With a growl, she landed a kick on Kellogg's body that was still laying on the ground. A clatter of metal caught her attention and she crouched down. Something had been knocked loose. She crinkled her face up in disgust and daintily pulled a device from the slush that had been the man's brain. "John, c'mere. I found something."

The ghoul clomped over and crouched down too, squinting at the small device. It still had parts of brain on it, but they still looked...alive. "Shit, tech in the head? It has to be important if he keeps it in his damn brain. Pocket it."

Fay gave him a bewildered look, still looking disgusted. "Why the fuck would we keep something with his brain on it?!"

"I say we take it to Nick. If anyone can make anything out of Institute tech, it's the guy that's made of it. It could be important."

"I-I suppose..." she said, cringing as he snatched it from her hand and literally shoved the piece in his pocket. "Oh, that's disgusting."

Hancock cackled, taking his cigar and putting it out with a squelch in Kellogg's...brains. They both stood and grabbed their packs, heading for the door she'd unlocked from the terminal earlier. Once they were squeezed into the elevator, her partner reached over and held out an inhaler of Jet to her. "I thought you might want it," he said to answer her questioning look. "If anyone deserved a hit of something, it's you. With all this shit goin' on, that is." Fay took it from him and chewed on her bottom lip as the nerves kicked in. It couldn't hurt. She popped the cap off and took a deep hit, sighing as her muscles relaxed and thoughts slowed down. "There you go. And don't worry, I'll keep an eye out while we walk."

The elevator opened with a chime and Fay leaned against the wall as Hancock clipped at the terminal to open the last door. It creaked open and they stepped out, taking in deep breaths of the fresh air. It was till dark out, though the horizon was just beginning to lighten. It was nice to see. Like the world was opening it's eyes to wake up.

A loud metallic screech jolted her nerves, pulling a squeak out. It was followed by a loud voice, making some announcement. Fay looked around, up, and froze. "Oh my god," she breathed, watching an enormous air ship fly overhead, vertibirds dropping from docks beneath it, taking off in all directions. Hancock took her hand in his looked up at him. "John, what was in that Jet you gave me? I think I'm seeing things!"

"Nah, I see it too. What the ever living fuck is that?" he said, fingers tightening around hers.

"Brotherhood of Steel," she murmured as the message from the speakers looped. "I thought...Danse must have gotten through to his HQ," she said, frowning. She'd forgotten about the small military unit she'd met and assisted on her way to Diamond City. The impossibly tall Paladin had tried to recruit her but...The military wasn't for her, as alluring as the handsome face above the metal suit had been.

The ghoul frowned at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Before I got to Goodneighbor, I found a recon unit in Cambridge. I gave them a hand with a few things. I suppose I should check up on them when I have a chance."

"They seem like bad news, doll."

She shook her head. "Not Danse. He's good people, thought a bit of an uptight prick. Now, c'mon. Let's get going. I want to see if RJ's back on his feet yet."

"Why you gotta bring up that chump up? You've got me, it's all ya need!" She swatted his arm as they made their way down from the roof.

* * *

Goodneighbor still looked the same. It was home now to Fay. She liked it here, with it's drifters and cocky men in suits keeping guard. She glanced over at Hancock as he closed the door behind him, his shoulders visibly loosening as he took in his town and smiled, wiggling his fingers at Daisy as she called to him. It warmed her heart. He caught her staring at him and grinned, tipping his hat back a bit. "Like what you see?"

"Maybe," she said and shook her head with a small smile. "Daisy need something?"

"Seems so. Duty calls, doll. I'll catch up with you later once I check up on everyone." She nodded and watch him stroll off, that easy swagger returning now that he was in his stomping grounds.

She headed off to the Memory Den, listening to the hiss of the vents and chatter of the Neighborhood Watch. Apparently the Brotherhood of Steel airship went by here too. Everyone was talking about it. She nodded to a few that waved to her and entered the old burlesque club. She peaked in all the rooms, greeting Kent and Irma, then headed down to the basement when she couldn't find MacCready anywhere. Amari was busy at a terminal when she stepped off the last step. "Hey, doc."

The woman looked up and gave her a warm smile. "Fay, hello." That smile faded as she looked her over. "I am guessing your confrontation with Kellogg did not end the way you had hoped?" Fay grimaced and nodded. "I will not pry then. You are looking for Robert, yes? He is back at the hotel, most likely cause a ruckus. He did not take well to you leaving."

Fay sighed at the news. "Thanks. And here." She handed the woman a bag of caps. "This should cover everything and a bit extra for the help. I know you're busy with your research."

"Oh, it's no trouble. It's nice to be able to get away from the theory sometimes. Now off with you. Before that man breaks something else." She gave a nod and left.

The hotel was fairly empty, just Clair leaning at the front desk. As soon as the old woman saw her, her normal sour look went red. "You! Where the fuck have you been? Your idiot friend has broken two pieces of furniture already! I'm adding it all to your tab, but get up there and take care of it!" Fay cringed and nodded, hurrying up the steps to the top floor. For all that people were saying, it was quiet. Eerily quiet. Their usual room was unlocked so she opened it and peeked in. RJ was hunched over at the table along the wall, rifle parts and rags scattered about. The twang of metal was just loud enough to be heard of his grumbles. Perfect. He'd completely disassembled the thing. He always did that when he was mad.

Fay slipped in and set her things down as quietly as she could. "RJ," she said and stopped as he sat up straight. "I'm...I'm back." Rifle parts scattered everywhere when he stood and turned, the chair falling over in his haste. In two strides, he was on her, pulling her into a one armed hug and burying his face in her neck. She wrapped her own around his waist, rubbing circles. "I'm fine, RJ."

"Good. I was so dam- darn worried." He pulled back slightly, scrutinizing her face. Then realization hit him. "Where's Shaun?"

The sadness welled up again as she failed to hold it back. "He didn't have him. Kellogg gave him to the Institute," she managed and face crumpling in as the feelings rushed back ten fold. He pulled her close again, resting his chin atop her head with a sad sigh. "I don't know what to do anymore. How am I supposed to get to the Institute? I just want my baby back!" She clung to him, sobbing and hiccuping. Slowly, he walked them backwards, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling her into his lap, letting her vent.

After what felt like hours, she calmed down, taking deep halting breaths and pushed her glasses up to dry her face. MacCready gave her a tight smile and pushed her hair back. "Better?" She nodded and made a sour face as she saw the sling around his arm.

"How are you feeling?" she croaked, blushing at the mess she made on his duster.

"Miserable. She stuck me in this thing and told me to leave it on for a whole week! I'm taking it off tomorrow though," he said, tugging at it with disdain, though his face went serious once he focus on her again. "So. What all happened? Gimme the run down, boss."

It took over an hour, but she gave him the whole story, minus the parts that might get him steamed at Hancock. "John has the...thing right now. I was planning on staying here for a few days, wait for you to recover. Then we planned on heading to Diamond City and have a talk with Nick. He seems the most likely candidate to help us puzzle this out. He is a detective and an Institute cast off."

"So you do have a plan then," he said, smiling at her, "You don't need to worry so much, boss. We always figure sh- stuff out. Now, the sooner we leave, the better." He adjusted the sling for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I'll use a pistol left handed if I have to."

"Oh no. We're resting, RJ. End of story," she snapped and pushed off the bed to sort through her pack. "I have a few things to trade in, some repairs as well. But after that, we're going for a drink at the Third Rail, with Hancock." MacCready spluttered but she cut him off before he could form a word. "When I said we, I meant all three of us. You are going to sit down, drink, and get to know him. I won't put up with being the rope in your tug of war game."

The man set his jaw and eyed her. "Like there is any way I'd sit down with that peeler," he grumbled. With a rattle, Fay threw a pack of Mentats at him, nailing the still sore shoulder and sending him on to his back with a yelp.

"I will not tolerate you talking about him like that, you hear? For god's sake, I feel like a mother with two petulant children!" Fay returned to her scavenge, glancing up at MacCready periodically as he pouted and picked up his scattered rifle parts. With the sorting done, she threw the canvas bag over her shoulder and stepped up to her younger partner. He stopped, face still that of a scolded puppy. She held a hand to his cheek. "I know I'm asking a lot, RJ, but please, do this for me. I trust John as much as I do you," she said, pausing as he grimaced, "Hard to believe, yes, but he's a good man under all the swagger and bravado."

"You owe me one for this, Fay," he said, voice going deep.

"We'll see, MacCready. We shall see!" she chirped, pulling away and was out the door before he could do anything else.

* * *

"You're leaving again? Fucking hell, Hancock! This is your town. You belong here!" With his jaw propped up on his palm, cigarette in the other hand, Hancock watched Fahrenheit pace around the office with a bored look. The woman was very close to just throwing him out the window. "I never signed up to run everything for you, you ass!"

He blew out a few smoke rings and then grinned at her. "I could always just have Ham run the place, if you want."

"For fuck's sake!" She pulled at her hair and pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare try that one!"

"I ain't got anyone else, Far. What do you want me to do? I'm loosin' my touch." He stood and looked out a window, watching the crowd around a murder disperse. It had been a synth. A fucking synth had gotten into his town. Thankfully the Watch had caught 'em but it still left a sour taste in his mouth. With the way he was right now, he was no mayor. Just a king pin chem head sittin' pretty in his little island of misfits. A growl escaped him as he gave the wall a punch. "This shit shouldn't be happening here! I can't help my people by hiding. That dame has her nose to the ground for the Institute, lookin' for her kid. If anyone can do something about them, it's her. And I'll make sure it fucking happens." The ghoul turned back to his second, face grim. Fahrenheit slumped as her anger drained, leaving her just looking worried and tired.

"Are you sure? Cause you mix your dick and your brain up a lot, boss."

"Yeah, 'm sure," he answered, flopping down on to a couch. "So, Mayor, what's your first statement gonna be?" She threw a glass at him which he easily caught with a laugh and set it on the coffee table. "Alright, I dig, I dig. You'll do a good job." Another pause as she joined him on the couch. "Don't doubt yourself." His friend nodded and grimaced. He felt like shit putting all of this on her, but it had to be done.

"Are you two done?" Said two turned to see Fay peeking around the door frame, hesitant to come in yet. Hancock waved her in and grinned at the pink on her cheeks. "I didn't mean to over hear," she half mumbled, side stepping and tugging on her braid. "But I do have a way I can help out." He raised a brow as she straightened up, coming to attention and putting an unwavering gaze on Fahrenheit. "If at any time, you need assistance of any sort, do not hesitate to send word to the Minutemen. You are as much a part of the Commonwealth as anyone and we'll give aid when we can. I give you my word as General." It was like a completely different person was standing there. All the anxiety and hesitation, fears and sorrow disappeared under the rigid military formality. Like she'd stepped out of some prewar army mag or was one of those Brotherhood of Steel putzs.

Fahrenheit looked a bit surprised, her mouth set in a line as she thought. Then she stood, stopping a foot from the smaller woman. "What makes you think we need your help, Vault girl? Goodneighbor can hold it's own against anyone. We don't need no tight ass idiots that can barely hold a gun to help us."

Fay's determination wavered a bit, a flash of fear over her face, but it was gone quickly and she frowned back at the red head. "That's all good, but you haven't recovered from the damage Sinjin did to the caravan lines. You need supplies; guns, ammo, booze, chems. We can detour one of our routes to give you a boost, lower prices, raise moral until everything is set again. It'll go a long way to calm people down with the increase in synth activity." She stopped to push her glasses up and grinned. "In exchange, you could send a few of your older guys out to Sanctuary to give a little training. We have a wave of green farmers coming in that want to learn."

Hancock felt his jaw drop. Say what? This little thing was the General for the Minutemen? And on top of that, she'd just dropped a plan to keep his people calm, cool, and happy where he was scrambling to keep peace. Shit. Every day, her brilliance peaked through her depression more. His heart gave a lurch as the stoic military face dropped off, replaced by her normal smile that sent her glasses crooked. Her eyes met his and the smile softened. "Plus, if there is anyone that feels they can't keep up with the Goodneighbor vibe, they can always head to one of our settlements. That includes ghouls, synths, and any in between. It's hard work, but we'll take anyone that's willing to try." She remembered. On the long walk, he'd told her about the legendary birth of John Hancock. The tale of his brother becoming mayor, of the poor ghoul families that he couldn't help after they'd been booted from Diamond City. She wanted to make a place for everyone.

She stuck her hand out to Fahrenheit. "Shall we shake on it?" The other woman grabbed her hand and they both gave a single shake.

"It will do, Jones. I didn't think you had a backbone in there," Far said and gave Fay's small shoulder a shove. "Now, I'm out to do clean up duty. Don't burn anything down." And she was gone, leaving the two alone.

Hancock took another pull off his cigarette and watched Fay. Under his gaze, she reverted to her shy and awkward self, carefully sitting down on the other end of the couch from him. She quickly hide her face, digging around in her pack. It was nice to see that even with all her newly acquired confidence, he still had that effect on her. "That was impressive. Would have been nice to know about the whole General thing before." Her head jerked up, face turning red and she fumbled a tin in her hands.

"Ah, shit, I didn't mean to keep it from you. It just never occurred before that you'd want to know. I'm still not used to the whole leading thing. I mean, I spent an hour working myself up just to come up here," she told him, adjusting her glasses and pulling some thread and a needle from what he now saw was a sewing kit. "Now, off with your jacket, Mr. Hancock. That thing has more holes then swiss cheese."

"Always so eager to get my clothes off," he said, shrugging it off and tossing it to her. The woman's face grew impossibly red as she gathered up the cloth and began to stitch the failing seams together. "I've been meaning to ask you. Where'd you learn to fight like that? I find it hard to believe that some prewar dame like you would just pick it up."

He watched as Fay pursed her lips in thought then shrugged. "Self defense training. I told you about being a lawyer, right?" He nodded and watched her tie off the thread and start on a new hole. "Well, I was a prosecutor. I'd go up against the criminals and make sure they got the punishment they deserved. That job tends to get you some enemies… I had some goonies from a small time drug lord after me. Kept following me around, waiting to try something. It scared Nate to death, knowing he couldn't do anything about it while over seas. So I took some self defense classes. How to counter muggers, rapists, guns, knives, all that good stuff." Another hole was closed. She paused again to thread her needle. "I actually liked it a lot. Eventually led me to dabble in other things. A little martial arts, a bit of boxing. I even got into gymnastics again. It reminded me so much of cheerleading."

Hancock nodded and continued to watch her. It was oddly nice to watch her do something so domestic. Her face screwing up as she concentrated and the occasional moments where she beamed in her story. But wait. Did she just say cheerleading? "You were a cheerleader?" He'd seen enough old mags and holotapes to have a general idea but...

"Yeah! You know what that is?" She turned to face him with surprise, needle pinched between her lips as she finished the last hole.

"Eh, I suppose so. I didn't take you for that kind of gal..." he replied, clearing his throat. "I mean, you were a married woman and all." The look on her face turned to confusion. "Ya know, the whole messin' around with chums for the camera?"

In two seconds flat, she was redder then a tato, the needle falling as her mouth gaped open. "What?! Are you talking about porn?!" Well, this was a bit awkward. He shifted in his seat and shrugged.

"You're the one who said it, doll."

"Oh for fucks sake, I wasn't a porn star!" Fay buried her face in her hands with a groan. "Cheer leaders are… Ugh, we went to sports games and cheered for our teams, boosted moral by doing flips and cartwheels. Not fucking on camera!" She kept mumbling to herself through her hands. "Of course porn would survive a nuclear holocaust." Oh. So that's what that was. Makes sense as to why all the ladies were so flexible in the holos.

With a growl, threw his jacket back at him and stowed her sewing kit. "Hey, my bad. Now I know the difference," Hancock said and winked when she gave him a murderous glare.

"We are never speaking of this again, Hancock. Argh!" Just before she stormed from the room, she turned around and pointed at him again. "Meet me in the Third Rail in ten minutes. You're going to join RJ and I for some drinks and you're paying. It's the least you can do after all this!" Then she left, the echo of curses trailing up the stairs after her.

* * *

"The usual, Charlie. Please bring it fast before I kill your boss."

From her spot at the bar, Fay ground her teeth, arms crossed, and stared at the stairs. Her blood was still hot from her 'talk' with Hancock. Of course he would lead any conversation back to that. To think that she was involved with anything like that! Embarrassment made her face heat up again and she turned back around. What if everyone in the Commonwealth thought that? "I'm never mentioning that to anyone ever again," she muttered to herself, putting a palm on her forehead.

"Mentioning what?" She turned with a yelp at the sound of a voice right behind her, smashing her forehead into a chin. Both parties grabbed the offended part and made hurt noises.

"God damnit! Why does my day keep getting worse?!" Fay cried, looking up to see MacCready rubbing his chin. "Oh, shit, sorry, RJ."

"Now you have to tell me what you where mumbling to yourself," he said, sitting down beside her. Charlie set down a bottle of whiskey then eyed MacCready. "Beer, Chapey." The robot went off again with an annoyed buzz.

"No way in hell."

"Aw, c'mon! You can't dangle a secret in front of me then pull it away. Don't be cruel, woman!"

Fay flicked the cork from her bottle at him and poured a generous glass, sipping on it right away. The first drink burned but settled to a nice warm in her stomach. "You're gonna have to try harder to get anything from me, dear," she cooed and drank more. The robotic bartender dropped a beer for MacCready and the man joined in the drinking. "Plus, shouldn't you be thinking of conversation topics for when Hancock gets here?"

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to get ready for that right now, if you didn't notice? More beers, Chapey! Keep 'em coming!" The first bottle was quickly drained and he turned to her again. "Now, this thing you're hiding. It has to be embarrassing if you're trying so hard. Let's see… Oh, you have an extra toe!"

"You've seen my feet, RJ."

"True. How about...you managed to sew the ass of your pants to your coat?"

"Ha. Ha. No. I'm better with a needle then that."

"You slept with Piper?"

Fay pushed his hat down of his eyes with a growl. "What is it with you men and always wanting me to get it on with other women. NO!"

A hot arm draped over her shoulder and Hancock's voice spoke over her head. She could already smell alcohol on him. He knew how to pregame apparently. "You are close though, pal." She knocked his arm off and shoved a finger in his face.

"Don't you dare, John. If you so much as utter a peep, you will regret it till the day you die!" The ghoul laughed and signaled to Charlie, taking the stool on her other side. RJ's eyes narrowed at the other man until Fay elbowed him in the ribs, mouthing 'be nice'.

"Nice of you to join us, Hancock," he finally managed, a sour look coming over his face.

"Why, thanks, Mac. Now, you wanna know what our gal here is so desperately trying to hide?" He held out a hand and Whitechaple set a glass of liquor in it as he made another round along the bar. Curiosity go the better of RJ and he nodded. Before Hancock could utter a word, Fay slapped a hand over his mouth, murder on her face.

"Shut up! Will you both stop it! I came here to drink and forget about it, not to have you embarrass me more!" The mercenary grabbed her hands and pulled them behind her back, resting his chin on her head to continue his conversation with Hancock. "RJ! Let me go right now!" Then Hancock covered her mouth, grinning as she squealed in outrage.

"See, now this is the best kind of teamwork." He leaned forward and put a serious face on, speaking with a low voice. "This shit will blow your mind, man. Now, I'm guessin' you're an educated fella. Got your hands on a good amount of mags on prewar stuff, ya?" MacCready nodded, chin bumping on her head. "Well, this little firecracker used to be a cheerleader." Fay's flailing increased and she fell to the ground as the hands holding her went slack. She rolled over and let out a loud groan, covering her face at her friend's reaction. RJ had gone completely red, mouth hanging open. Then he looked down at her and his mouth closed with a click of teeth, eyes bugging a bit.

"I-uh, wow, boss… I don't know what to say," he mumbled, chugging down another beer.

"It's not like that, for fuck's sake! It's a sport!"

"Sounds like my kind of sport," John cut in, lightly punching RJ's shoulder. "I'd do that for a living."

The woman struggled to her feet, so angry she could have sworn steam was coming from her ears. "John Hancock! How dare you!"

He leaned over and pulled her close and whispered, "We could always practice if you want."

"NO! Ugh!" She pulled away and crossed her arms. "How is that the only thing about cheerleading that survived the bombs is porn?! Now, you listen here, RJ. It's a sport! No dicks involved. It's a group of people, not just women, that would dress up in their school colors and cheer for a sports team. It's meant to boost morale."

"My morale would be high, that's for damn sure," Hancock chimed in and dodged another swipe from the woman. "C'mon, Fay! You gotta see the irony in this. It's too perfect."

"I'll perfect you in the face with my fist, you cocky bastard."

"Please do," he purred and drained the last of his glass.

MacCready laughed, finally relaxing. She couldn't help but smile a bit as Hancock patted the man on the shoulder and waved Whitechapel over for more drinks. Even with all of Hancock's shameless flirting, MacCready was keeping it cool. This was what she wanted. For the two men currently in her life to just get along. It helped her emotions settle and she sighed in defeat. RJ caught her eye and grinned, holding out a hand for her to join them again. She did so a bit reluctantly, leaning on his shoulder. Her glass was filled again and she took a deep drink, gasping as the burn hit hard.

Conversation was sparse as they all filled up on booze. Fay put it on herself to get it started again. "So, you two have know each other for a while, ya?"

MacCready nodded, setting down his sixth beer. "I've been hanging out in Goodneighbor long enough. Hancock actually hired me for a few things before the Gunners found me and stared scaring business away."

"Ah, I remember the last one," the ghoul said chuckling a bit. "Daisy was sure steamed when you destroyed that caravan."

"Don't remind me. It took me months to pay her back for that brahmin." Fay looked between the two expectantly, raising her brows and waiting for an explanation. "Well, it went like this. There was single scavenger that kept picking at Daisy's main caravan, running ahead and covering the road in cryomines. As soon as a brahmin stepped on one, BAM! They were frozen and ripe for looting, but no nasty blood ruining resale value or letting meat go to waste. So Hancock over here came to me and offered a nice amount for me to take 'em out. You can't say no to him."

Fay laughed, feeling herself start to sway and get warm. The alcohol was doing it's thing. "I know the feeling. It's like he hypnotizes you or something." She nudged the ghoul and giggled as he tugged her braid. "Now, get to the good part!"

"Okay, so, I found this great perch, a good two stories up, and was staking everything out. When along came the guy, laying down more mines. I thought that it would be a good shot and took the guy out. Bad part is that he landed on his own mine. Now since it's a cryomine, the guy's body just turned to a chunk of ice and went flying. And that landed on the next mine, setting that off. Rinse and repeat. Somehow, it kept going. Four mines later, the thing was this huge ball of ice and it just started to roll down the road, bouncing off buildings. Even took out a super mutant or two." He stopped to drink yet another beer, now red in the ears. "Eventually, it caught up to the caravan and splat! Took out the pack brahmin, bits of it everywhere."

"But it didn't stop there," Hancock cut in, pursing his mouth. "The damn thing rolled all the way back to Goodneighbor and took out part of the front barrier before it stopped." Fay started laughing so hard, she would have fallen over if the two men hadn't caught her. They eyed each other over her head, an arm hooked around each of hers. She tilted her head back and lazily watched them, the grin fading. Uh oh.

"I, eh, feel like story time is over!" She tried to pull her arms free but their grip on her tightened. "C'mon, guys. Let me go so I can get another drink." Or perhaps another drink wouldn't be such a good thing. Fay peered at her Pipboy and cringed. It was late. Really late. "Actually, I think I'm gonna head to bed." She tugged a bit more but neither budged, though they'd looked away from each other at least. "You need to as well, RJ. For your arm."

Said man thrust his jaw forward in a stubborn expression. Fay slowly raised an eyebrow at him, the mom instincts kicking in. He looked down at her and let out a loud sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right." A sly smile crept up onto his face, raising her hackles. Oh no. "It'll be nice to have you back in bed again." Instantly, Hancock stiffened and she swore she could hear his knuckles cracking.

Before she could do anything to placate the ghoul, he was already running his mouth, words a bit slurred. "She sure didn't want for bed mates over the past few days." And then he downed the rest of his drink.

"What's that supposed to mean, Hancock?" MacCready said lowly, slipping his arm from hers so he could stand.

"It means that my little cheerleader is just the right size for spooning, kid. Very soft." Hancock turned to face the mercenary, leaning back against the bar with a practiced look of ease but ready to strike.

Fay felt her face turn red and she struggled to stand up too. Though the ghoul hadn't released her arm yet and she just ended up falling into him. "Please, John, don't," she hissed, grabbing onto the ruff on his shirt. "I just want you two to get along."

He finally let her go to instead slide his long fingers into her hair, holding her still and leaning closer. "No can do, love. John Hancock never looses." But before he could do anything more, a fist crashed into the side of his face. Fay yanked herself back and gaped at RJ as he pulled his hand back and shook it. She dizzily swiveled around again to look at John again but he hadn't moved an inch. The punch hadn't even phased him. He stood and stared down at MacCready, murder in his eyes. "You really don't want to go there, MacCready," he growled.

Finally, she'd had it. Fay pushed between the two, a hand on each chest and shoved. "Enough already! I'm done with the both of you! I am not some prize for either of you to fight over," she yelled, eyes tearing up. "I care about you both dearly but you are killing me here!" The whole bar went silent and both men looked at her in surprise. Using their shock, she slipped her hand into John's pocket and pulled out the hardware from Kellogg's head, holding it up. "I'm leaving. And you won't follow me. I will find Shaun with or without your help."

MacCready grabbed her free hand before she could leave. His expression was pure pain. Oh, what had she done? "God damnit, Fay. Please don't! I haven't felt this way towards another person since Lucy. I fucking love you, okay!" She froze as her chest felt like it was in a vice grip. Did she feel the same? Fay couldn't tell. Her mind and heart were still such a jumbled mess. All she knew is that she needed to find Shaun. Everything else could wait.

"Let go, Robert," she said and bit her lip as he slowly let go, looking broken. "I-I don't know what I feel right now," she chocked out, "But I do know I have to find my son. You of all people should understand that. So I will say it again. Until you can put aside your feelings, you're will only hinder me. Please. Be safe." She took a few steps back, glancing over at Hancock one last time. He'd turned his back to her, hunched over the bar and gripping a half empty whiskey bottle. No goodbye then.

With her head now clear of alcohol, she grabbed her things from the hotel room and left, heading towards Diamond City.

* * *

"Give me a room, Yefim." Fay held out a hand full of caps to the man and shook it at the look grumpy look on his face.

"Is this room for one or two?" he asked as he set aside the mag he'd been reading.

"Just one," she said stiffly. Both his brows went up but he nodded, taking the caps and handing her a key. She was starting to get annoyed. Why was everyone so surprised that she was alone? She'd been on her own for the first few months after leaving the vault. With a nod in thanks, she quickly entered the room and closed the door, dropping her things.

The trip over hadn't been terrible. A few raiders, a few mole rats, but other wise smooth sailing. But it had felt different, a bit scary. Not having someone at her back had been unnerving. Plus everything that had happened in Goodneighbor was still weighing on her. Why did RJ have to go and tell her he loved her? Fay sat on the one lonely chair in the room, elbows on knees and face in hands. She still didn't know if she loved him that way. Maybe this would be a good chance to think about things. At this point, she felt like she was leading him on. It would be best for both of them. Fay shook her head. She had other things to worry about. It was too late to go bother Nick and she was exhausted regardless. She flopped on the bed sleep came almost instantly, the exhaustion hitting like a truck.

It was late noon before she woke, feeling less tired, but still unsteady. The best thing to do to keep the thoughts away was to be busy. Fay pulled the component from her pocket and held it out. The flesh was still on it and a few lights blinked steadily. This was her only clue to the Institute. Her last hope. She felt her blood heat up at the sight of it. Fuck them. With determination in her step, she stepped into Valentine's office. Ellie looked up from her desk and grinned.

"Fay! It's good to see you." Though her grin faded at the look on Fay's face. "I take things with Kellogg didn't go well?"

"As well as my luck will allow. Is Nick around? I have something I need his opinion on."

The young woman shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He's out on a case right now. He's trying to work through the ones that piled up from the Malone situation." She paused to check a paper in the file on her desk. "He should be back later tonight though. I believe he's checking something out near by. I'll let him know you stopped by."

Fay sighed and nodded, deflating a bit. "Thanks, Ellie. I appreciate it. I'll be at the Dugout." She stepped out, pressing the heel of her hand to her chest as the tightness returned. The timing was always off. What was she going to do now until he got back? She mentally chided herself and pushed the panic back down. She wasn't going to let something this trivial get to her. She'd get a drink. That always helped.

The Dugout was just starting to fill up with people and she relaxed a degree seeing the bar was empty. As soon as she grabbed a stool, Vadim was on her. "Ah, Fay! Just the woman I was looking for!" he exclaimed, arms wide in welcome. "I have request." His face went from joyous to serious in a blink. "Something must be done about the radio." Fay blinked, hand poised over her pack to pull out caps.

"What do you mean?"

"This-this hideous noises. It is pain to my ears! Someone must do something about this Travis." His voice got low and even more serious, if that was possible.

She frowned and set her pack down. "You don't mean…?"

"We must take care of him. I will pay well." Her jaw dropped. Vadim wanted her to kill Travis?! She glared and poked a finger at his chest, anger rising.

"Now you listen here, mister. I will do no such thing! And if I catch you saying this to anyone else, I'll make you regret it," she hissed. Travis might be an awkward mess, but that didn't mean he deserved to die.

"No no! He does not mean this. It is a joke." Yefim said, slapping his brother upside the head with his most recent reading material as he walked by. Fay sighed in relief but kept a frown towards Vadim.

The other brother grinned and rubbed his head. "Yes, tis joke. Travis is a good friend. I only wish to help him." He leaned forward, slapping a hand down. "He lacks confidence. You have noticed, yes? We must fix!"

"And how do you propose we do this?" she asked, leaning an elbow on the bar, pushing her glasses up.

"How else! With fists. I have contact that's willing to, eh, throw fight. Travis will be here in hour. You will help him, yes? You are magnificent with fists!"

Fay smiled at the broad grin on the man's face. She couldn't say no to that. It wasn't the best idea in the world but...it was worth a shot. Anything to help the poor boy sound less like he'll die of fright over the radio. "Sure. I'd love to help." Vadim barked out a laugh and slapped the bar again. "Just make sure these guys don't take it too far. I don't want to hurt anyone too bad."

"Thank you, friend. Now, drink! It will be on us." He quickly poured her a glass of crystal clear moonshine and smacked it down. "Enjoy!"

She sipped on the drink, cringing a bit at the harshness of it, waiting for the hour to tick by. Her thoughts slowed from their usual rush and she finally relaxed completely. Though with nothing to do, they drifted back to the main source of her pains. "Well, well. Look who's graced us with her presence again!" Fay looked to the side and couldn't help but smile as Piper sat beside her. "How've you been, Blue? You look like shit."

"Thanks for the compliment, Piper," she said with a laugh and slugged back the last bit of her moonshine. "I've been...busy, you could say."

"Busy, huh? Do I sense a story brewing?" the brunette asked, leaning forward and pushing her pageboy cap back. "Or is it drama? Don't think I haven't noticed the puppy eyes MacCready's been giving you last time you passed by."

Fay pursed her lips, unconsciously grabbing her braid, and turned to face her friend a bit more. "A mixture, I guess. This is off the record, okay? I don't want any tabloid gossip." Piper nodded rapidly and put on a silly over the top listening face, brows furrow and lips pursed. Fay sighed and twiddled her hair. "You're right about RJ. I mean, I noticed he'd been trying to hold my hand or just some cute comments. I just thought it was just a joke until now." She pulled out the pistol MacCready had made her, watching the younger woman oh and ah over it. "He gave me this and kissed me." She paused as Piper squealed and clapped a bit. "I didn't really know how to react at the time, since we were about to enter a raider hideout. But there is...a complication. Do you remember what I told you about John?"

Piper raised a brow, eyes widening. "You mean John Hancock? The mayor of Goodneighbor? The one you split on in the middle of some nice hot n' heavy stuff? Oh man, what's he want now?" Fay felt her cheeks get hot.

"Yeah. I don't know how to explain what's between us now. Sometimes it feels kinda serious. He can be really sweet when he wants to. But..."

"But what? He must be pretty good with how heated you're getting!" Then it clicked. Piper's eye lit up like she'd just opened a present on Christmas. "Mac knows. Oooh boy, you have two guys fighting over you?"

She nodded and pulled harder at her braid, her nerves fraying again just at the thought. "I took them for drinks, you know, to get them to loosen up and be friends. Or at least civil towards each other. It almost ended in a fist fight. Then RJ tells me he loves me. Oh god, Piper. I didn't know what to say. I broke the poor man's heart!" Fay closed her eyes and gently rubbed them. "I left them both in Goodneighbor and booked it here. I have Shaun to worry about and that much chaos is just going to make things harder."

"You still haven't found Shaun?"

"No. I did get to Kellogg. He's dead. But Shaun was already handed off to the Institute."

"I fucking knew it! It's always them! Son of a bitch!" Piper cursed. She frowned and put a hand on Fay's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Fay. Have you found anything else on it?"

Fay held up the brain part. "This was in his head. I'm not sure what it's for, but I thought Nick might have an idea. Otherwise I'm stuck."

"And you don't think Mac can help with this? I mean, he's been with you for a while now."

"No. I-I don't even know if I feel like that for him. If I'm constantly getting mixed up and worrying about how those two will get on around each other, I'll get distracted from finding Shaun. It's not like I can just snap my fingers and tell how I feel!"

"What makes you think that? Have you actually given it any thought? Mac confessed first. How does he make you feel when you're around him?"

Fay stared a Piper for a minute, brain working. Being around him made her feel...good? They joked and bickered often enough. He made her happy. But when they were apart, she didn't yearn for him or think about him constantly, like she had with Nate. No giddiness or butterflies in her stomach. The few kisses hadn't really done much other then surprise her. "He reminds me of my brother," she whispered and frowned. "I love him the way I would a sibling."

Piper gave her a sad smile. "Makes sense as to why you never noticed anything before. Maybe someone else has got you all in a whirl? A certain suave ghoul?" She wiggled her eyesbrows and lightly punched Fay's shoulder.

"Hancock? I suppose so. He really knows how to make a lady feel wanted," Fay mumbled, pressing a hand to her hot cheek. Just thinking about the one morning when she'd finally caved on letting him go with her made her heart race. Or how careful he'd been after everything with Kellogg. "All I can say on that is I do care about him a great deal. I'd trust him with my life."

"Sounds like you've already made up your mind, Blue." Fay smiled at her friend and hugged her.

"Thanks, Piper. That helped a lot." She wasn't kidding. It was like a weight was lifted. It was easier to breath and the general sense of panic eased.

The young woman leaned back and grinned. "It's what friends are for! Now if only I could find a way to turn this into a book. 'After being frozen for 200 years, can the devilishly handsome ghoul bring life to the Sole Survivor's frozen heart? Or will the sly sniper steal it from under his now gone nose?' Man, I should really try this out."

"Don't you dare! I don't need people knowing about my love life!"

"Fine. Is it okay if I scope out Mac? Since you're not a thing?"

It was Fay's turn to raise a brow and grin as Piper turned pink. "Oh my. Do you have a thing for snipers, Piper?"

"Maybe. He's pretty damn cute. Plus, I've been wanting to do a story on mercenaries and how the Gunners play a role. It'd be a perfect chance to bat some eyelashes." Fay snorted out a laugh, taking up her refilled glass to sip again.

A flash of red caught her eye and for a second her heart stopped. Until she realized it was Travis finally arriving. Two men stepped up and pushed him around almost as soon as he stepped inside. Words were passed, though she was tipsy enough to not get the full gist of it, it was bad. Time to get this show on the road. "I'll be right back, Piper. I have some work to do real fast." Fay ignored her questioning look and stood, sidling up to Travis. She placing a hand on his back, causing the kid jump and looked down at her. "What's going on, Travis? These guys bothering you?"

"I-I uh, y-yes! I don't know w-what I did to deserve this!" he stuttered, hunched over himself and wringing his hands. She swore if she tapped him, he'd collapse from fright.

"Well, do something about it! Are you going to just let them talk to you like that?" she urged, eyeballing the two goons in their leather. His eyes bugged out and cringed.

"Oh, nonono. I-I can't do that. Nonono, I'd die. I-I d-don't wanna-"

"I've got your back, Travis. Don't worry, I'll help you."

He stiffed up and clenched his hands into fists. He still looked scared to death but, it was a bit of a chance. "Y-you're right." He turned towards the other two men and frowned. "Th-that's enough!"

"What'd you say, pip squeak?"

"I said, that's enough! L-leave me alone!"

The obvious leader of the two laughed and held his hands out in mock surrender. "Oh no. I think you were meaning to say something else with that. Did you mean 'or else', Travis? Do you have the balls to actually do it?"

"I'm gonna beat you up!" the young man yelled, voice cracking like a preteen. Fay bite her lip to keep from laughing. At least he was trying.

"I'm gonna destroy you and your girlfriend, you little bitch!" And with that he, charged, fist aiming right at Travis' face. Fay pushed her friend to the side a bit, just enough to only be clipped a bit. She could see where the man was at least trying to pull his punches, though not very much for her taste. Then he turned for her, letting his friend go after Travis. She raised her eyebrows as he smirked and beckoned her forward with a finger. "You think I don't know who you are? Bitch, I'm gonna kill you," he hissed and charged again.

Fay laughed a bit and skipped to the side, leaving her foot behind just enough to catch his shin. The dumb bastard didn't even have the time to catch himself as he slammed into a nearby table, sending drinks and patrons scattering. "Good luck with that, mister. I've fought things a lot tougher then you," she chided, propping her fists on her hips to watch as he struggled to get up. The look on his face was pure rage. She almost expected to see his eye roll back like a shark. "C'mon. Let's try this again."

This time, she curled a finger at him, grinning as the adrenaline got her blood racing. Nothing like a good fight to knock you out of a bad mood. The leather clad man stomped up to her and reared back a fist. She didn't even try to dodge this time. She caught his fist in her hand, still grinning as his eyes bugged in surprised, and slowly began to twist. Panic set in as he started to try and pull his hand from hers, but she just squeezed and jerked the whole thing in one go. There was a satisfying crack and the man howled, dropping to his knees. Fay dropped his hand and sighed, folding her arms across her chest while staring down at him. "I was really hoping for a challenge," she said and stepped back as he tried to spit on her.

"Fuck you, whore! You're gonna regret this!"

"Excuse me, but that's not the type of language you should use around a lady," Piper said as she stepped up beside Fay. Then kicked him in the balls. All the breath left him in a high pitched squeak and he curled up in a ball. Now that is a very defeated man.

She cringed and glanced at Piper. "That was a low blow, Piper." The woman shrugged and perched back on her bar stool. Fay clicked her tongue and turned to see Travis land one last punch on the other man, sending him down as well. He had a nice black eye, but otherwise, was okay. She felt pride well up as he shook out his hand and looked up to grin at her. The whole thing was obviously starting to work. He was standing straighter now, less curled up on himself, and he actually looked happy. "You okay, Travis?"

"U-uh, yeah! We did it, Fay! We actually did it!" He cried out and hugged her, dancing around a bit then jumped back. "I-I gotta go. I have things to do. But thank you! I really mean it!" And he was gone, running out the door. The two goons had already scurried off, much to her pleasure.

Fay laughed to herself and turned back to the bar. Vadim was there with the biggest smile ever, waggling his eyebrows. "Happy you're plan worked?" she asked and took a sip from her drink.

"Very. Thank you, friend. Now, plan is not yet finished! Now, you know Scarlet, yes? Worked here many years. I see how they look though. Travis always watching and sometimes, she watch back. Perhaps-"

Piper leaned forward and drummed her hands on the bar, cutting him off. "Ooooh, I know where you're going with this. Let me help! It's sounds pretty romantic!" Fay nodded at the look Vadim gave her and he turned to Piper, speaking lowly with her about his plan.

"Do I even want to know what you are up to?" She glanced up and grinned as Valentine arrived. She hadn't even heard the door. The synth gave her an amused half smile, looking over at Piper as she laughed and high fived Vadim. "Or is it better to ask what those two are scheming?"

"Both are equally good questions, Nick," Fay said, standing to meet him. "I'm glad you got here when you did. I needed to talk."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yay, another chapter! This one turned out way longer then I was planning on, but it worked out. I apologize for the wait again but the time between will get longer the lengthier each chapter is. Oops! I still really appreciate all the reviews. They always help out tons with the rough patches in writing. Let me know if you spot anything that can be fixed! Enjoy!**

* * *

Fay watched Nick as he held up the hardware, turning it to the light shining from over head. "Look, kid. I might be made of their parts, but I know next to nothing about most of it," he said, setting the part down and frowning. "Let's think about this though. You say this is from his head? Anything that someone plugs into their skull has to keep at least some information from there. Maybe..." The synth stopped and rubbed his chin with that metal hand.

The sharpest mind in the Diamond City was literally turning his gears. Fay felt her nerves and muscles tighten up as he sighed and placed the part down with a click. "What is it, Nick? I don't like that look you have," she said and frowned.

He opened his mouth to speak up they both jumped as the door to the Dugout banged open and Piper strolled out, a huge grin on her face. Though it faded a bit when she saw the other two. "Well well. Old Nicky is here at last." A serious look settled over the young woman's features as she took in the tension. Her eyes locked onto Valentine's glowing yellow ones. "What do you make of this?" she asked, settling into the booth beside her friend.

That metal hand tapped the table beside the brain part. "As I was telling Fay, if Kellogg had this plugged into his head, it must have important stuff on it. Now, what's the best way to get a good look into someone's head, to see the past memories?"

Pipers eyes lit up and she slapped a hand on the table. "The Memory Den! Nicky, you genius!" He gave her a crooked smile and looked over at Fay. Her shoulders sagged a bit as some of the tension faded. It was something. As long as she had some trail to follow, one tail to chase, she could keep going. One step at a time.

"If you think it's worth a try, then let's do it. I'll head out tomorrow." She quickly pocketed the part. Back to Goodneighbor. If she was lucky, they could sneak in and out before anyone caught wind. A lump formed in her throat at the thought of confronting MacCready or Hancock again anytime soon.

"I'll go with you," Valentine rumbled, standing up and adjusting his fedora. "I've got an old friend there. They'll be our best chance of being able to do something." Fay nodded at him, letting out a long sigh.

"Thanks, Nick. I really appreciate it."

He stopped beside her, fleshed hand on her shoulder. "We'll find your son, Fay. Don't worry." And he was gone, that tattered trench coat trailing behind him.

Piper nudged Fay and grinned when she finally looked up at her. "Trust 'im. Nick knows what he's doing." She paused and drummed her nails on the table. "What are you going to do about the boys?" Fay just shook her head and cringed. "Gotcha. Won't even speak of it again. But if you want me to go along, just say, okay? And it's not because I want a scoop or anything. You're my friend. I want to help."

Fay felt emotion well up and hugged the other woman. "Thanks, Piper. I'll let you know."

"Now, I'm off to play cupid. Later, Blue!" She watched the reporter stroll off, the tightness returning to her chest. It was always that place, when everything came down to it. She couldn't stay away. She didn't know if she was ready to face MacCready yet again. The thought of seeing the hurt and pain on his face again made it hard to breath. Fay shook the thoughts off, forcing a deep breath in as she stood and wobbled from the alcohol still in her system. There was no point thinking about it. Just keep busy, stay as distracted as possible.

She slowly walked down the dirty, partially flooded streets of Diamond City, taking in the strands of lights and busy atmosphere. Even at this late of an hour, some shops were still open. John was still bickering with his mother, Moe and his obnoxious crowing on baseball bats, and Percy just popping out for the evening. The smell of noodles drifted through the whole marketplace, causing her stomach to growl. She hadn't really had a thing to eat yet today and the smell alone said, eat here! She slide into an empty stool at the bar beside a man in a heavy coat, nodding yes at the robot, and traded caps for a steaming bowl of noodles. Thankfully, they tasted as good as they smelled.

As she ate, the man beside her glanced over and back to his food. Then again, lingering a bit longer, though his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses. Why he wore those things in the middle of the night, she couldn't guess. She finished a bite and this time, when he looked over, she met his gaze with an annoyed look. "Do you have a problem?"

He gave a lopsided half smile and shook his head, pushing the edge of his hat back a bit. His teeth were oddly white and he was possibly the cleanest man she'd seen in the Commonwealth so far, with hair neatly combed and slicked back. "I suppose so." Her eyebrows rose higher as he finished his food and turned towards her completely, letting out a long whistle. "So, this is the famous Fay Jones. I've heard a lot about you."

"Do I know you?"

"Nooo way. I make it my job that people don't. Let's just say I'm a representative for an interested party. We...help people out of less then satisfactory situations and could use your expertise. If you're interested." He gave a small smile, almost smug. Her curiosity was peaked. It was the most vague proposition ever, but his appearance alone was making her want to find out more.

"It's gonna take a bit more then that for me to help you out, buddy," she said regardless, pushing her glasses up and putting on a fake annoyed look. "The last job I took with little to no information, I found myself inside a mansion where a guy made pieces of art from dead raider bits." The man's smirk disappeared, eyebrows lifted above his glasses. "So, who, what, where, and why? Or at least, maybe a name?"

He stopped and scratched his head, mouth pursed as he though. "Okay, fine. The best I can do is this." A holotape was placed onto the counter beside her bowl, the words RAILROAD printed in bold letters. The word seemed familiar to her. "Listen to this. If you're interested in helping people that really need it, then just follow what it says. And my name? It's, uh, Todd." His tone oozed dishonesty at the end and she could help but let out a half snort half laugh.

"Todd? You couldn't come up with something better?" This 'Todd' tensed up completely beside her then relaxed, all within a second. He covered the surprise up pretty well. She grinned and decided to pick on him a bit. "You're pretty bad for some sneaky spy type. You should use something better for this god forsaken wasteland. How about Carver? Double meaning. You could pass for a raider. You like to carve people up if they don't do what you want." Fay mimed a stabbing motion with her chop sticks and watched as it pulled a short laugh from him.

"You're weird," he muttered, leaning on the counter and gave her another half smile. "How do you know that isn't my real name? I could be very insulted right now. Maybe I'll just strangle you with one of those noodles."

"Just try it," she said and turned back to her food, still feeling his eyes on her. For once, it didn't set her teeth, bring on the wave of panic that was always ready to break her. Her own eyes kept watching him from her peripheral. He wasn't bad looking. Mysterious, snarky, and there at the right moment. "You wanna buy me a drink, _Todd_?" It came out almost a purr and she mentally cringed. Since when did she sound like some hungry prowling black widow?

Todd hummed, fingers grasping his chin in a dramatic long drawn out thought. Then he gave her a wolfish grin, leaning forward and into her comfort zone. "You want me to mix business with pleasure?" Fay fought down the urge to squirm and forced a coy smile. Even behind those sunglasses, she could tell his gaze was piercing. "It's like you read my mind. Let's go somewhere a bit more classy."

They both stood and he led her up into the stands and into what was the Colonial Taphouse, according to the sign above the door. The place was smaller then the Dugout Inn with a smokey, dimmer lighting set up. Only a few people were there, mostly at the bar nursing actual clean glasses of alcohol. Todd pulled out a chair with a flourish for her, pushing it in once she say down, then headed over to the bar. Fay watched him, feeling the normal doubt start to cycle through her head. This was probably a bad idea. This was a perfect stranger. Even worse then that, a stranger that was lying about his name or who he was even associated with. And here she was, batting her eyes for drinks like he was her sugar daddy. The clink of a glass in front of her pulled her from her thoughts, lifting her eyes up to see said man pull his coat off, wearing a beaten flannel beneath. She let her gaze drift taking in the muscles showing through the fabric as he tossed the coat over the back of his chair and sat down, lounging with his arm over the back.

Fay took a drink from her glass, blinking in surprise at the sweetness followed by the bitter after taste. Todd grinned at her again as she looked up with raised brows. "Nuka and Rum," he said, starting on his own. "I've got a bit of a sweet tooth and this is the best way to take care of it." He leaned back all the way, grin turning to contemplation. "Where's your partner? MacCready, right?" She choked on her drink in surprise, coughing as it went down the wrong way.

"H-how do you know about him," she wheezed, face red.

"It's my job to know. Though I won't lie in saying I did a bit of….extra research on you. You're a very interesting lady."

She looked to the side, biting her lip. No point in lying since he already seemed to know more then she was happy with. "He's not with me. We're doing our own thing for a bit."

"Oooh, lover's spat?"

"Lovers? We're not lovers!" she yelped, frowning at him. "He's just a good friend." Todd hummed and held his chin again. She felt her face redden more, the whole coy and seductive facade gone to the wind. This was not what she was expecting. "I came for a date, not an interrogation," she grumbled.

The hum turned to a chuckle. She could feel those eyes on her again, burning through the glasses. "Can't blame me for being cautious. I don't want some angry sniper boy friend barging in and trying to kill me." Fay shifted, guilt welling up. "Do you want to cancel this little date then?" She drained the mostly full cup in one go, gasping a bit as she slammed it down. Maybe it would be for the best to just back out now. She stood and took a step, standing to look down at him. He still had the grin on his face, like a cat with the canary in his tummy. The alcohol sent her head swimming, thoughts flooding together. Instinct mostly filled her and she leaned down and kissed him hard. It was a harsh, bruising kiss, all teeth and tongue. After a few moments, she pulled back, breathing heavily. His own breath was faster and he licked his lips. "Well. Definitely pleasure on your mind."

"You bet your ass, pretty boy," she said, swaying as all the drinks from the night seemed to all roll up into her head at once. The whole world started to spin a bit and all Fay could do was grin and tug at him. Before she knew it, they were back in her room, her hands pushing him back onto the dirty bed and pulling her shirt off. Both their glasses were crooked as they kissed again, she legs straddling his lap. She pulled back and squinted down at him, trying to make out his face, but everything wouldn't hold still. "Maybe you're better at this spy stuff then I thought," she muttered and struggled to stay up.

"I'm the best," he said and laughed as she fell to the side, laying limply. "You okay there?"

"'M fine." She struggled with her pants, lazily kicking at them to get them off, but gave up. "I wish everything would stop moving!"

Todd rolled over, holding himself above her, still with that damn grin she was starting to hate. She'd wipe it right from his face. But he leaned down and covered her mouth with his this time, nipping at her bottom lip and tugged her pants off for her. Her head lolled back as he moved down her neck, unclipping her bra and trailing his mouth farther down. It felt nice and she closed her eyes. She'd just rest them for a moment…

* * *

Banging on the door jolted Fay awake and she sat up, groaning as her head pounded. The room was a mess, clothes scattered about, alcohol bottles, and even an inhaler of Jet. She lifted the blanket hesitantly and sighed in some relief that her underwear were still on. Most of the night was a blur after that last drink. She'd gotten the two of them back here. But had they… She shook her head and stood as the door was banged on again. "Hold on!" she yelled, hopping around as she pulled her pants on, followed by her shirt. She yanked it open, a glare on her face to see a frantic Yefim, breathing heavily as he stood at the door.

"I need your help! They took him! That stupid idiot got himself kidnapped by those thugs from last night. I need your help to get him back, please!"

She held up her hands to stop him from talking more, closing her eyes against the bright lights behind him. "What are you talking about? And speak slower."

"A group of men came and took Vadim. They were angry about some money he owned them and that stupid plan he came up with. Please, go after them. I'll pay if needed!" The man looked about ready to fall to his knees and beg and she sighed.

"No, no pay, Yefim. Vadim is a friend. I protect my friends. Do you have any idea where they went?" He shook his head. "Fine. Give me a minute to get ready." She closed the door and leaned against it with a sigh. Just fucking perfect. With a hang over, not knowing if she just screwed a random guy, and having to travel back to Goodneighbor to face the dread of men all on her mind already, this was not something she needed. Fay let out a yell and kicked the nearest chair over, sending a holotape and a note to the ground. A deep breath in and out settled her mind and she shook her head. Crouching down, she squinted out the words on it, realizing it was the tape the man had given her yesterday. She shoved the note in her pocket for later. It would be best to hurry now. There was no way to know where Vadim was or how much trouble he was in.

She threw her hair up into a ponytail, not bothering with a braid, finished dressing and shoved her glasses on her face. Yefim was standing behind the bar as she came out, still a mite panicky as he wiped already clean glasses. "Can you give me a water, Yefim? My head feels like a horse tap danced on it." He gave her a bewildered look but gave her a can of purified water. Fay downed it quickly, the cool liquid soothing a bit of her headache. Now where to start with finding where these idiots are. "Are you completely sure you have no idea where these guys hide out," she asked the man again.

"No, no. Vadim dealt with them. I try to stay away. They make me nervous. Perhaps Travis knows?"

"Travis, the man that's scared of everything know where some thugs stay?" Fay let out a short laugh. "I doubt it but it's worth a try. I'll bring him back, Yefim. Don't worry." Outside, the sun was already past noon, heading towards sunset in an hour or two and she groaned a bit. How long had she slept again?! This was becoming a bad habit quickly. Once at Travis' place, she didn't even bother to knock, throwing the door open and glaring around. "Travis! I need to speak with you!" She finally locked onto the bed in the corner, eyebrows raising seeing the kid pulled away from Scarlet, the two obviously had been kissing. "Vadim's been kidnapped," she said, leaning against the door frame. "That guy from last night, uh, what's his name..."

"Bull," he squeaked out, sitting up straight.

"Yeah, him. Him and bunch of his friends dragged Vadim off. I need your help." Fay sighed and rubbed a temple as Travis laughed.

"You're kidding me, right?"

She glared at him again, crossing her arms. "Does it look like I'm fucking kidding?"

"Oh no…This is because of last night, isn't it? Oh god. My fault!"

"It's not your fault, Travis. Vadim just doesn't know how to keep his nose out of places it shouldn't be. But Yefim seems to think you know where they are. Do you?"

Travis froze, hands no longer twitching nervously. "I-I think I do. I've heard some things. But I'm going with you! I don't have many friends. If Vadim is in trouble, I want to help."

"Are you serious, right now? Where ever we're going, it's not gonna be fun. Most likely guns, blood, pain. You could die."

"Of course I'm serious." He stood up, taking a pistol from the filing cabinet beside him. "They're in the Beantown Brewery."

Fay clicked her tongue in thought then shrugged. "Fine. We'll just have to be careful." She glanced over at Scarlet. "Go tell Yefim and Valentine where we're heading." The girl nodded and Fay back out into the mushy path again. "Let's go, Travis."

* * *

Of course it was dark outside. Every time she was about to storm into an obvious raider hideout, the sun was on the other side of the planet. By the time she'd arrived at the brewery, Travis was a nervous mess, jumping at every sound. He'd already wasted two clips trying to take out a mole rat. It was a good thing she always carried extra ammo. Fay glanced over at the kid, sighing a bit as he swiveled his head around to look for anything threat. "You ready for this?" she asked, patting his shoulder.

"Not really but...I gotta do it!" he said, straightening up and putting on a determined face.

"Okay. One thing though. I'm up close and personal. So when you're shooting that thing, if you think that you might hit me in any sort of way, like the slightest hint, don't shoot! I really don't feel like picking bullets from my back." He nodded and she just shook her head. The whole situation was not going to end well.

Fay pushed the door open slowly, creeping in, and held a finger up to her lips at Travis when he clattered about. Stealth wasn't her best thing, but they could at least try. Just inside the way, she saw a person sleeping on a nasty mattress, snoring pretty loudly, actually. Easy pickings. She slide her way up, leaving the kid behind, and snapped the raider's neck with a sharp crack. Travis, of course, let out a strangled cry at the sight, gripping his gun with both hands. Fay shushed him and continued through, up the set of stairs and into the bottling room. The whole place reeked of yeast, piss, and unwashed bodies. Just from a quick count, she found at least six or seven of them scattered on the ground and on the cat walks above. She slipped back around the corner and grabbed Travis' coat, pulling him close.

"Listen. I'm gonna take care of the ones on the walks. I want you to take out the ones on the ground. Take your time, stick to cover, and for god's sake, don't shoot up." He was shaking in place, eyes wide. "Travis." He gave no response, staring straight at the wall beside her head. "Travis!" she hissed, shaking him, finally getting a reaction as he snapped her eyes to her. "You can do this. Just focus, keep a clear mind. Vadim needs you, remember." He slowly nodded at her and she let him go, giving him a brief, toothy grin. "Don't shoot until you hear me yell."

The stairs were unfortunately very well lit, she realized as she crept up the first flight. Thankfully no one noticed her on the ground and the walks were free of a patrol. Fay made she to keep an eye on the ground, watching as Travis cling to a large brewing vat and waited for her signal. At this point, she needed to drop the stealth. As frustrating as he was, she didn't want the kid to get hurt and the best way to achieve that would be for her to act as a distraction. Best to just go now.

Fay took a deep breath and sprinted up the last stairs, heading straight for the closest raider. The man let out a yell of surprise just as she landed her powerfist into the side of his head, spraying the area with bits of bone and gray matter. "Come and get me, you fuckers!" she screamed, kicking the body over the railing. Shots rang out from all angles and she ducked, crawling behind the sparse cover. This would have to do. Through the grating under her feet, she saw one raider go down and Travis slip up to take his spot, aiming steadily at the next one. She grinned, a bit of pride swelling in her chest. Looked like he was handling himself once it came down to it.

"God damn it, get out there and kill them, you useless pieces of shit!" Fay moved down more, seeing a small office on the other side of a rickety looking bridge, lights casting out a glare through the dark surrounding it. A huge man was leaning over the side, waving his rifle as more raiders ran up the stairs. Well, things were busy. She jumped from her place and ran over. Before the raider could do a thing, she grabbed his ankles and flipped him over, peeking over the edge to watch him hit the ground, neck at an unnatural angle.

Within seconds, more of the men made their way up and were coming at her. Fay let her instinct take over and dodged the first blow the closest raider sent with the butt of his gun. A quick hit from her fist crushed his trachea and sternum, and he collapsed. The next was able to fire off a shot, the bullet just missing her head. More bullets rained around her, one getting through and burrowing a hole through her left bicep. Fay clenched her jaw at the pain, letting the arm go limp, and took out another raider, hitting him the rips and crushing his torso. Only two left, but they were smarter, staying a good ten feet away, reloading their guns. She needed to take them out fast. If they hit her other arm, she was done for.

Before she could charge, one of the raiders fell with a gurgle, blood squirting from his throat. The other raider stopped reloading and crouched down, frantically looking around to find the shooter. Not being one to let a good distraction be wasted, Fay charged, kicking the man in the face, sending him onto his back and the weapon skittering away. "Where is Vadim?" she hissed, pinning him to the ground with a foot on his chest. All he did was shake his head, panting heavily. "Ah, fuck this. I'll find him myself." The powerfist crushed his skull with a crack and she flicked the gore off it.

Breathing heavily, Fay looked around. Travis was making his way up the stairs to her, but she didn't see anyone else. There had to be a sniper around here. That shot came from the same level as them and Travis' dinky little pistol wouldn't be able to do that type of damage. Once the kid reached her, she held up her hand to stop him from speaking and motioned him to follow her into the office. It was empty except for a tied up Vadim. The man perked up when he saw her then surprised when he saw Travis. "You came! I didn't think anyone would. How did you rope Travis into this?"

Fay gave him a grumpy look and stepped behind him, cutting the ropes off. "I didn't do any roping, Vadim. He demanded to come along." She sat on the edge of the desk as he stood and rubbed his wrists. "You're his friend just as much as mine and he has every right to come here and rescue your unlucky ass." Vadim blushed a bit then dug in his pockets.

"I am sorry, my friends. I did not plan on this happening. Very unlucky. But these raiders are very stupid! Left caps and chems laying every where. I took while they didn't look." He handed her a heaping handful of caps and an armful of Buffout. "Thank you, Fay!"

Travis gave her a small smile and turned to leave, but she stopped him. "How are you holding up? Any wounds?" He shook his head, seeming steady and calm for once. "What's going on in that head? This couldn't have been easy."

"It put a lot of things in perspective for me," he said, face taking on a very serious look. "There's no point in getting so worked up and scared over talking on the radio. I mean, just in the past two days being around you, I've gotten into a bar fight and broke into a damn raider base to rescue someone. The fears before just see...trivial." He shrugged, fiddling with his pistol a bit. "I do appreciate everything you've done to help though. I'm glad I can count you as a friend now." Fay couldn't help but break into a huge smile at him. Travis was just so cute and innocent.

She hugged him briefly then nudged him towards the door. "Be careful heading back, you hear? I'll see you later." Once he was gone, she slumped forwards, resting her elbows on her knees and clasping her aching head in her hands. One day. All she wanted was one day to herself where she didn't have to fight, be it physically or verbally. This wasteland was too brutal for it. Everything was a battle.

"How do you always manage to get into so much trouble?" Fay jerked her head up, breath catching in her throat as MacCready stood in the doorway, rifle in hand. He looked tired and beaten, with a black eye and a busted lip, but stood straight with a stern face.

"RJ? What are you doing here?" She pushed off the desk, starting to walk to him, but stopped. He wasn't supposed to be here. She'd told him not to follow her! "You were the one that sniped that raider," she said, holding her hand over the wound on her arm as it throbbed. "Fuck, why does no one ever listen to me! I told you not to follow me," she ground out, hissing as the hole throbbed more. The sniper walked up and grabbed her hurt arm, holding it out to get a look. Fay tried to jerk away but he wouldn't let go and she growled as the pull only managed to make it hurt more.

"Hold still and let me see it, Fay," he said, tugging the fabric away to examine it. "The bullet is still in there." His eyes met hers, deep dark blue to smokey green. "Sit."

"Like hell I will. I don't need your help." Everything in her head said to just do what he asked, but she refused. No, fuck that. He wasn't her boss and she wasn't just going to bow over, especially when he ignored the one thing she said to him last.

"Why ya gotta give the kid a hard time, doll? Just let him fix you up before you bleed too much." This time she froze completely as Hancock stepped in, shotgun in hand and also sporting a colorful bruise on his cheek. She numbly sat down, looking between the two as RJ pulled her sleeve back and pulled tweezers from his pack.

"You're both here? Okay, I must be in the Twilight Zone," she said weakly, putting her free hand to her face. The bullet came out quickly before she even realized anything, only jumping a bit and yelping at the stimpack injection. The wound knitted up quickly and RJ stepped back, standing beside the ghoul. "Why are you here?"

The two looked at each other and back at her. "We talked things over," RJ said with a shrug.

Hancock just laughed and tapped the bruise on his face. "He means we beat the shit out of each other. It was a good show." Fay slapped a hand to her face, sighing. Of course they would do that. Men never changed. "I'm gonna go wait outside," Hancock said and slipped out, leaving RJ and herself alone. The tension in the air was almost immediate.

She folded her arms under her breasts, the panic starting to coil up and constrict her chest. She wasn't ready for this. No time to prepare how to approach the subject or brace for the hurt. "I'm sorry," MacCready said, sitting beside her on the desk. She moved over a bit, making sure to leave a few inches between them.

"I'm sorry too..." she managed, looking away and biting her lip. "I-I need to tell you something. I really don't want to but-"

"You don't love me." She looked up at him and saw the sad acceptance on his face.

"No, I do! Just...not the way you want me to," she managed, eyes tearing up. "How did you know?"

The man laughed a bit. "It dawned on me while I waited for the teeth Hancock loosen to settle back into place. What I feel for you...it's not what I thought. I've been lonely for so long and you've been the only person to show me any semblance of kindness. I latched on to the thought and took it places it shouldn't have gone. You're my best friend, Fay." He held out his hand and she took it, lacing their fingers together. "I don't want to loose you over me being stupid."

"It's not stupid, Robert," she said and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I do love you, you dolt. But you're more like...a brother. To be perfectly honest, you're a lot like my little brother."

"You had one?"

"Oh yeah. He was a pest. Always stealing my things, pulling my hair, scaring off my friends and any boys I liked." She laughed a bit at the thought. "We didn't get along very well until after I left for college. Once I was pregnant, I think he was more excited about being an uncle then I was about being a mom." Fay relaxed completely, a small smile on her face. "You gonna stick around?" She asked quietly after a moment. "I know that you want to see Duncan."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to help you find Shaun." He paused, gritting his teeth. "I'm not gonna lie, it won't be easy for me to back down completely. I can't just stop feeling the way I do, but I'll try." She nodded and he forced a smile. With that, he stood up, pulling her along with him. "Let's go get Hancock and head out."

Fay stopped and checked her Pipboy. It was late, a bit past midnight. Not prime time for traveling. "No, we should stay here for the night. Even if we leave, the only place close enough to rest at is Diamond City. And they won't let John in." The sniper nodded in agreement. They made their way down through the left over carnage and now darker lights of the building, finding Hancock lounging in a molded office chair by the door, lit cigarette dangling from his lips. He lazily turned the chair around to face them fully.

"What's the way, doll? We headin' out now?"

"Nope. We're camping out here, mister. After that, we head back to Goodneighbor." She paused next to the ghoul, watching as he sat up and groaned as his back cracked. "Don't worry, old man. I found a nice bed you can have." All he did was grumble as they cleaned the room near the entrance of bodies, flipping mattress' over and coaxing the fire back up.

Fay leaned back on her hands, cross legged on her own bed and sighed. This was not how she'd pictured her day ending. She watched as MacCready pelted tins of Mentats and Jet at the ghoul, knocking his hat off and causing him to curse at the mercenary. Though it stopped once he realized it was chems raining down on him and just pocketed it all. Soon enough, Hancock was then throwing boxes of InstaMash and cans of Cram over the fire and managing to nail the younger man in the side of the head. And then chaos erupted as more objects were grabbed and thrown across the room. An inhaler of Jet landed on her lap quickly followed by a tin of Crisps. "Boys!" she yelled, causing them to both freeze. "Seriously? What are you, twelve? Quit it."

MacCready flopped onto his back and groaned. "C'mon, boss! Let us have some fun."

"Not when it's food we should be eating that you're tossing around. Should know better then that. Specially you, Hancock. You're almost twice his age."

The other one grumbled and popped a Mentat. "Why you gotta bring up the age thing again?" Fay just laughed and stood, the Jet in her hand. Hancock eyed the chem, a glint coming to them as he grinned. She glanced over to see MacCready turned over and settled for sleep. "You want company?" he asked, standing too and stepping closer. She nodded and they both slipped back up to the bottling area again, sitting on a conveyor belt together.

Fay took a hit from the red plastic and passed it to Hancock, sighing as it slowed her thoughts down to an almost manageable level. "So, how'd you guys find me?" He breathed out his own hit and it curled into a white cloud of fog. The temperature had dropped in the past hour, the cold finally setting in. Now that they were outside the cozy fire, it cut right through her thin and holey leather jacket.

"It wasn't hard. Diamond City is the only place to find old Nicky. Mac found him fast enough and got word you'd ran out to rescue another poor sap, as usual." He looked over as she shivered a bit, wrapping her arms around her self. "C'mere." His arm was over her shoulders and he tugged her against his side. The body heat he gave off was more then enough to warm her through. She slipped her left arm around his waist, snuggling close. Everything was quiet aside from the hiss of the inhaler and their breath. For the first time in weeks, Fay completely relaxed and let her mind empty. It was a wonderful feeling. After a few more minutes, Hancock broke the silence. "Why'd you leave?" he asked, voice quiet, almost a whisper.

Her head fell back against his shoulder, giving her a better angle to watch him. The ghoul looked just as bad as RJ, if not more. Tired and beat up, literally. What was she supposed to say to that? He'd offered to leave everything, his town and people, behind to help her find her son. And as soon as things got confusing, she'd ran. How did you explain that to someone? Her heart ached at the thought of him hurting. Not answering his question, she reached up and ran a finger over the side of his face, light over the bruise. He leaned into her touch, a sigh escaping at the gesture. "I'm not really sure, John. I guess the easiest thing to say is, I was scared. I have two good men, offering to lay their lives on the line for me. Men with people that depend on them to survive. It terrified me to know that if I fucked up, you could die. I don't want that. And with everything else, the emotions, I panicked." She paused and closed her eyes, letting her hand slide to her lap. "I'm sorry."

The arm around her tightened. "No one's gonna die." She could feel him shift, suddenly lifting her across his lap. She blinked up at him, a bit confused but stopped as he leaned close and pressed his forehead to hers. "I don't think you realize how pissed I was when you ran."

Fay laughed softly. "Judging by the nice colors on both your faces, pretty mad."

"Yeah, well, he started it. Nothing does a soul better then a good fist fight." A pause and a deep breath. "Am I the only one feeling somethin' here?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, words not coming out. There was, she couldn't deny it. His presence alone was enough to sooth her nerves but send everything jumping at the same time. A source of determination but also a distraction. He was always at the edge of her thoughts and her insides squirmed when he smiled just for her. She lifted a hand to run down his cheek, feeling the dips, the contrast in textures, the warmth and smiled as his arms tightened. "Yeah. I don't know what it is, but it's there," she said, feeling her heart beat faster. Their lips met and she sighed into the kiss, slipping her arms around his neck. It was gentle, which surprised her. He normally dove into anything with gusto, devouring and taking all she could give. But this was...careful. She pulled back and pursed her mouth at him. "What is this? Treating me like some fancy braud? Are you going soft on me, Mr. Hancock?"

He raised his brows at her, a toothy grin stretching his mouth in return. "Excuse me for tryin' to woo a lady for once. Now, if you want to go and challenge me, you won't win. There's nothing that's soft about me, love."

She laughed and slipped from his lap, taking a step back while facing him. "I could tell. Now, let's go back and get some sleep." Hancock stood, stretched, then swooped forward to grab her in his arms again.

"Oh no, you're not getting away from me. I'm wasn't finished!" Fay squeaked as he walked her backwards until her back hit the brick wall, hands on either side of her head. Those long fingers plucked her glasses from her face, stowing them in his pocket before he kissed her again. His tongue tangled with her, setting her nerves on fire and she threw herself into it with just as much passion, nipping at his lips. Reaching to the tips of her toes, she clung to his jacket and groaned a bit as he slide a hand down to cup her bottom, lifting her higher. He broke away and trailed a line down her neck with his mouth, drawing quiet sigh. "Goddamn, you feel fucking good," he growled against her skin, other free hand slipping under her jacket and shirt to trace her back. A shiver ran up her spine at the feeling. He moved back up, about to kiss her again when she put a hand over his mouth to stop him. Even with all the excitement, she could still feel how tired she was. Not to mention, she didn't want to end up fucking on the dirty floor of an abandoned brewery.

"No more, John," she said, catching her breath. "As nice as this is, not the best location nor the best time." She smiled as he nipped at her fingers until she moved them.

"Fine. But I'll make sure to continue this later." His voice was low and raspy from the kiss and it was almost enough to make her change her mind. He let her slide down slowly, drawing a frustrated grumble from her as each button and groove rubbed against her breasts.

"Tease," she said, snagging her glasses from his pocket and putting them back on. The combination of Jet and lust made her walk back wobbly, drawing more chuckles from Hancock as he followed. At last she flopped down onto her mattress, laying on her back with her rubbery limbs spread, eyes closed. As she lay there, Fay couldn't help but smile. For once, things were starting to work out.

* * *

It was times like that this that he wished leather wasn't the easier form of protection to get in the wasteland. Hancock blew out a stream of smoke and watched as Fay walked up to Daisy's shop, leaving the kid and himself to wait on a bench. She still had those damn tight leather pants on and it made it so hard to not admire her legs. He smiled to himself as she started dumping all the shit she hauled around onto the counter, starting the long process of bartering caps for it. How such a tiny thing managed to be so strong, he would never know.

"Do you really have to stare at her like that around me?" MacCready grumbled and crossed his arms, a glower setting on his face. Obviously, he was still pretty sour about the whole situation, not that he could blame him.

"It's a bit hard not to. When you have a work of art like that, you have to admire it, man." He held out a pack of smokes, offering one to Mac. The younger man shook his head, staring at Fay himself with a face turning slightly red. Feelings die hard.

Much quicker then expected, the woman was walking over to them in a hurry, cheeks and nose pink from the cold and a new thicker coat wrapped around her. It was obviously too big, hanging almost past her finger tips. Like a child playing dress up. She stopped, digging around in her pockets to pull out handfuls of caps and hold them out. With a brisk tone, she said, "Here's your cut, boys. The salvage was a good haul. Though we could have made more if you'd help me bring some in..."

"Keep it," Hancock said, standing up and flicking his cigarette butt to the ground. Then he paused, watching Mac as he counted everything up and hurried off to Daisy himself. "Actually...go give it to the kid. He's sending it to the Capital, yeah? Add it to his haul."

Fay looked from her bag as she arranged it again and grinned. "Really now? Well well. Goody two shoes Hancock is passing out caps to all the sick children."

He clapped a hand over her mouth and leaned down glare at her with narrowed eyes. "Shut your yap, doll. I don't want something like that spreading around." She pulled his hand away, the grin still in place, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before scurrying back to the shop. Maybe he was going soft. But ignoring a sick kid was just something you didn't do, no matter how bad it made you look. Plus it made Fay happy. He cringed a bit to himself as the thought popped into his head. He shouldn't care if some dame thought but...he couldn't help it.

Caps were exchanged quick enough and they made their way to the Memory Den. It was still dimly lit and scattered with pods, some being used. Valentine stood from his seat on a couch, eyeing both himself and MacCready with an amused look. Hancock just lit another cigarette and tried his best to look bored. That damn detective picked up on too many things. Fay approached with her normal warm smile. "Nick. I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long." He shook his head at her and put his hands in his pockets.

"Don't worry about it. Now, let's go have a chat with Amari." As they moved across the room, Irma cooed a flirt at the synth, which he returned, much to Hancock's surprise. Who'd a thought the clunker knew he way around the ladies. Downstairs, Amari was working on a terminal, glancing up at the sound of so many footsteps in her space. Hancock leaned up against the wall, letting everyone else crowd over by the doctor.

"Well. Look who decided to visit." Her eyes drifted to MacCready and she smiled. "How is your shoulder, Robert?" Mac stretched out his arm to show.

"Doin' just fine, Doc. You have a way with thread and flesh."

At last she honed in on Fay, the smile fading to a stern look. "It's never a social call when you come to visit, dear. What do you need?"

Fay hesitated, hands moving around in her pockets as her nerves began to surface. "I-I need you're help with something. Are you able to _take_ memories out of a brain?" The doctor frowned, shaking her head.

"No, no, we only allow clients to see their own memories, not store or allow others to view them. What are you trying to do now?"

Valentine stepped forward, giving off his serious hardened detective vibes. "We've got a dead man with some important information in his head. I know it won't be easy, but we need your help getting what he's hiding in there."

"You're crazy," Amari clipped, standing to shake a finger at them. "You want me to defile a corpse by prying open some man's head? Not to mention these machines need a _living_ brain to do anything!"

Fay stepped up too, her hands clasped out in front of her, almost pleading. "Please! He's the only one that knows where my son is! Kellogg is the only person that had any information on the Institute."

Amari froze, eyes lighting up. "The Institute? This man had information on the Institute?! I...I will try what I can." She paused as Fay nodded, pulling out the hardware and holding it out to the doctor. "This is not a brain, my dear..."

"I know, I'm sorry, but during the struggle...well, his head isn't in one piece anymore. But this stood out to us. We thought it was important," Fay said, glancing back at Hancock, a worried look on her face. It was pretty obvious she was starting to loose it a bit. The ghoul stood straight and strolled over, hands in his pockets as he stood close to her. She seemed to visibly calm down a bit. Without her signature braid, she gripped the edge of her coat like a lifeline.

The doctor turned the part over in her hands, those keen eyes looking it over. "The matter is remarkably well preserved. Let's see...ah, it's the hippocampus! And this must be a neural interface. He was storing memories in it without even realizing it. Perfect. Now, due to the Institute using the same architecture for the majority of their technology..." She locked onto Nick and the synth nodded. "Are you sure? This is a tremendous risk. It could do irreversible damage to you." Fay looked between the two, eyes widening.

"You mean you want to plug that into Nick? Oh, no. There's gotta another way! I don't what that mad man's mind to be anywhere close to another person!"

Nick put his hands on her shoulders. "Fay. It's fine." Her breathing started to pick up and everyone could visibly see her panic. The synth gave her a bit of a shake, face becoming stern. "You can't keep worrying about everyone like this. I'm an old man that's lived a long life. This is the least I can do." After a few moments, the small woman nodded, still looking like someone had kicked her puppy.

Amari pulled out a chair and gestured for the Valentine to sit down. He sat and for the first time ever, Hancock got to see him without that damn hat on as he removed it. The plastic was peeled back and as Amari began fiddling with wires and parts, the light in Nick's eyes began to flicker a bit. "Please, talk, Mister Valentine. I need to make sure there are no changes to your cognitive functions while I do this. How do you feel?" Fay grabbed Hancock's hand, holding tightly as she watched Nick with worried eyes. This was killing her to watch.

Nick cringed, eyes shooting about like he was trying to see something that wasn't there. "I-I can't really make anything out. Lots of static, flashes, a random word here or there."

"Just what I was afraid of." The doctor sighed, stepping back to pace as she thought. "Their encoded. Of course they would encode even memories. The information is locked. Perhaps..." She returned to her terminal, picking through files. "I suppose we could try this. If one mind isn't enough, perhaps we can try two." She looked at Fay. "We can load both of you into the memory loungers and run your cognitive functions in parallel. Mister Valentine could be the host and you can move through the memories to find what information you need." Hancock felt his stomach lurch at the thought. Fay climb into a synth's head? Much less Kellogg's head? Too much shit could go wrong.

"You've got to be kidding me. You want her to dive into his head and wade around in there? What if she got lost or-or I don't know!" MacCready burst out, cutting his arm through the air. "No way." He paced one direction and spun around to face them. "I'll do it!"

Instantly, the small woman changed. Her back went straight, jaw jutting forward, and that stubborn look took over. "No. I'm doing it." Fay met the mercenary's gazed with her own hard one and he visibly backed down, shoulders hunching. "I don't want you risking this, RJ. This is for my son and I...I feel like I'd have the easiest time finding anything that has to do with him in Kellogg's memories. Not to mention I hunted the man for weeks..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hand squeezing Hancock's.

"You sure you want to do this, doll?" he asked, leaning down to almost whisper it in her ear, ignoring the angry sounds MacCready made. This was not something he wanted her to do but it was her choice. She turned her head, those dark green eyes cutting right into him. They had a spark in them he hadn't seen yet. Her mind was made. He swallowed thickly, throat drying and his guts doing a flip as he started feeling nervous. "Just be careful with...whatever you find in that metal noggin'."

"I will, John. Don't worry," she said, slowly letting her hand slip from his and sitting down in the pod. "Keep on eye on RJ for me. You know how he can be." And then the glass dome closed, closing her off from him. He regretted letting her in there as soon as it latched, watching her eyes close and face relax. MacCready immediately started pacing, grumbling to himself angrily.

Suppressing the urge to do the same, Hancock pulled out another cigarette, lighting it and watching as the doctor began typing away at another terminal. "You better make sure nothing goes wrong, doc," he said lowly, a dangerous tone in his voice. Amari stiffed and finally looked at her mayor for the first time since they'd arrived, turning pale. "I don't give two fucks about whatever information you want to dig up for your little Railroad. You do anything that would put her at risk and I'll make damn sure you won't live to regret it." She gave him a shaky nod, leaning farther over her terminal and concentrating.

MacCready stepped up beside him, watching Fay as she began to shift around in the pod. They shared a tense moment of silence before the kid broke it. "What's it like in one of those?"

"Like it was real. You get hurt in there, you'll feel it even after you step out." Mac stopped himself before another curse slipped out, turning to pace again. Hancock popped a Mentat and stuck his hands back in his pockets, settling down in a chair beside the pod. His legs were itching to move, fingers tapping with impatience. He couldn't take his eyes off her, watching the small twitches and movements over her face. All the thoughts in his head kept churning over what could possibly be going on in that machine, if Fay was hurt, all the shit that could be going down. Hancock mentally cursed himself. Why was he so worried? He forced himself to look away, frowning at the wall.

Maybe everyone was right. He was getting soft. Normally, he wouldn't bat an eye at someone like her dying. It happened every day; some weak sap getting devoured by the harsh land. Now, he cared, almost too much. The fact that he'd dropped everything just to follow her around said a lot. Sure, she was the only person to have a viable chance of finding the Institute, which would open up a hell of a lot of options. To quell the civil unrest of synth body snatchers and bring trust from his people back was reason enough. But it was more then that. Even if she didn't have her little fingers in all those pies, access to plenty of resources, and her silver tongue, he'd still have gone with her. Ignoring that fact she was a bombshell, there was just something about those eyes, the way her smile made him forget everything he'd done to fuck up. She didn't care about his past mistakes, wasn't disgusted by his face, and actually respected him. Even the thought of it took his breath away. Fuck, he was in deep shit.

A muffled scream ripped him from his thoughts and he sat up, slapping his hands on the pod. Fay was sobbing, twisting from side to side and he punched the glass with a growl. "Amari, what the fuck is going on?!" Mac was beside him as well, hands holding his rifle, butt first and ready to smash it.

"Calm down, Mister Hancock! It is just a bad memory. She is not hurt," the doctor snapped, tone reedy as she typed furiously at the keyboard. "Please refrain from hitting my equipment, both of you! You might distracted her. We are very close to the information we need."

"Like fuck I'll calm down. Hurry up or I'll get her out myself!" Throwing away all concept of coolness, he shoved past the mercenary and prowled the perimeter of the room, popping a few more Mentats to try and sooth his frayed nerves. After a minute or so, Fay's crying subsided, leaving only the low hum of the terminals and electronics spread around. All it did was rile him up more.

At last, Amari let out a shout, a grin on her face. "Of course the last memory would have any relevant information! I'm pulling them out now." Both pods opened with a hiss. Valentine was up almost right away, allowing Amari to remove the hardware from his head. "Take it easy for a bit, Mister Valentine. There may be some...mnemonic impressions left over. Run some diagnostics, make sure to scan everything. I don't want you to have anything left from that man." The synth nodded, unsteady on his feet as he stumbled up the stairs.

Tuning out the others, Hancock knelt beside the pod, hands a death grip around the edge as he watched Fay wake slowly. Her face was wet with tears, leaving streaks in the fine layer of dirt, and more fell as she blinked slowly. "How you doin' there, doll?" he said softly as her eyes found him. She opened her mouth to answer, but all she could manage was a chocked wheeze before she hid her face in her hands with shaking shoulders. He clenched his jaw as MacCready leaned forward and pulled her out, crushing her to his chest.

The woman managed to speak after a few moments, though muffled as she pulled away from Mac. Her eyes were red and puffy but she'd composed herself, jaw set again. "Sorry about that. I'm...I'm good now." Holding back from going to her right away, he watched as she gathered herself up and began to speak with Amari. "Teleportation." She turned to look at each person in the room. "The Institute moves their agents around through teleportation." Both Hancock and MacCready looked at each other in surprise.

"Correct," Amari added, drawing attention. "How they are able to do it, who can say. We obviously don't have the technology or knowledge to make use of it. But." The doctor pulled up another file on her computer. "There is one other thing we can use. According to the last memory, Kellogg was given an order to track down a rogue scientist. Somehow, one man managed to escape and they desperately want him back or eliminated."

"I remember reading about a target he was tracking, back in Fort Hagen," the ghoul spoke, crossing his arms to keep from fidgeting. He kept his eyes on Fay, wanting badly to just take her hand, which he could see shaking under the too long sleeves of her coat.

"Yeah. I'm hoping that if this Virgil can leave the Instutite, then he can help us get back into it," Fay said, lifting her Pipboy up and putting in coordinates.

"The only issues is where his location is," said Amari, turning from her computer. "The Glowing Sea." Hancock clenched his jaw to stifle a curse. Really? Send a tiny smooth skin like her into that hell hole?

"Aw, fu-are you serious?!" MacCready snapped, turning to pace yet again. "Who in their right mind would even go near that place, much less hide in it?!"

"That much radiation can act as a very efficient deterrent. Not to mention how it blocks signals and broadcasts that could try to pinpoint anything," Amari cut in. "It's not the best lead, but it is the only one you have."

Fay bite her lip and toyed with her sleeves. "What exactly is this Glowing Sea?" she asked, looking up at Hancock.

He sighed, pushing his hat back. "It's where the bomb hit. A massive area of super radiation. It'd be like a day on the beach for me, but you...well, you'd fry up within minutes if you went in too far. No one goes near it or lives in it." He locked a hard gaze onto the doctor. "What options do we have?"

"Chems. Rad-X and lots of RadAway would help some. You could also try a hazmat suit. Or better yet, power armor. I know there are different types of coatings you could put on it that would block out most of the radiation. It's also best for protection, which I'm sure you'll need." Amari paused, sighing a bit. "I wish there was more I could do."

Fay shook her head and gave the woman a weary smile. "No. You've done more then enough Amari. Thank you. Please, let me know if there is anything you need later on." They both nodded and his partner slowly left, MacCready and himself trailing behind. She stopped outside the building, running a hand over her face. "I know what you're going to say," she said, holding up a hand as MacCready opened his mouth. "I just need to take a bit to...process everything. RJ, go have a drink, find a job, or just find something to do."

"Are you sure, boss? You know how you get after something like that," the mercenary said, trying to take her hand, but she stepped back.

"One hundred percent sure, RJ. Plus, I need to have some trade talk with Mister Mayor here. Daisy had some correspondence from Preston on setting up routes." Hancock raised a brow at her comment, ignoring the angry look the younger man gave him. "Don't even. Just go enjoy yourself somehow, okay?" Mac grumbled and stomped off to the Third Rail.

Trying his best to be casual, the ghoul slung an arm over her shoulder, leading her to the State House, a bit of swagger in his step. "Business now, eh? Nice cover, doll." Her elbow met his ribs and he laughed.

"I'm serious on this one, John. I really do need your help to set up some trade routes. You know the area around here best and I want to make sure any supplies we send actually make it," Fay said, stepping through the door as he held it open for her. "Preston is already training up a few people so they'll be ready to protect the brahmin, but if you can send someone half way to help lead them back, it'd be a better deterrent for the super mutants that like to hole up." Her voice trailed back to him as they went up the stairs, though he ignored most of it, watching her very nice ass from below. "Plus, I'm sure Fahrenheit wants to add her two cents on things. She is acting mayor and with a tactical mind like hers, she'd be a huge help as well."

Hancock kicked the doors shut behind him and she stopped in the middle of placing a map on the coffee table, looking up at him. He never closed those doors. Fahrenheit wasn't here, thankfully. They needed a moment, just for the two of them. It was easy to see that she was still shaken from whatever that machine let her see due to the babbling. He aimed to fix whatever it is she was working over in the head of hers. She straightened up as he stepped close, her hand reaching for her braid that wasn't there. "You gonna tell me now?" he said quietly, tugging the band from her hair and watching it fall down over her shoulders.

"Tell you what?" she asked, looking down at the map instead of at him.

"You saw something you didn't like in the damn machine. What was it? What did you see?"

The hesitation as crystal clear as she pulled away and sat on the couch, Jet pulled from her pocket. "Nothing important. We got the information we needed, Mister Hancock." She took a long hit, breathing it out and sighing.

He could feel the agitation build at her terrible evasions. And since when did she use that shit so much? Hancock snatched it from her hand and tossed it over his shoulder, grabbing the couch on either side of her head as he leaned down. "I'm not an idiot, Fay," he said lowly. The drugs took affect fast, her eye lids heavy and face relaxed but she still blushed at the closeness. He grabbed her chin when she tried to turn her head away again, forcing her to meet his eyes. "You really don't want to piss me off."

"You're always pissed off with me, John. Why do anything different now?" she mumbled, eyes drifting to the side again.

"I get pissed because you do this! You won't let anyone help. God damn it, just let me in," he demanded, swallowing thickly when she still refused to look at him. "Stop being so self righteously stubborn, woman!"

Those hazy green eyes snapped back to his and she frowned. "I'm stubborn? Look who's talking! This is the man that I had to pry any insight from with a fucking crowbar. If you're allowed to run away, then so can I!" He pulled back, hurt from the comment tightening up his chest. Fay sat up, following him, stabbing a finger into his chest. "You want to know what's going on in my head? Fine! I'm tired! Of this world, the terrible nature of things, how the people treat each other." She stopped to take a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I try my best to help, I really do. I want to make this a better place for Shaun to live in. But it feels like I'm doing nothing. All I do is drag the people that are actually making a difference into shit, complicate things." Fay pulled at her hair, moving away to pace the room. "I saw Shaun in Kellogg's memories," she whispered after a minute, stopping to look at him. "He's ten, John. Ten! I've missed a whole decade of his life..."

Hancock hissed out a breath. That explained a lot. "He looked so much like his father… But before that, it… It was the vault." She hid her face in her hands. "I had to watch Nate die again, but it was by my own hands! Oh god, how could I do it," she wailed, starting to slump to the ground. He moved around the couches, grabbing her shoulders and holding her up.

"That wasn't you. Kellogg killed your husband, Fay. Don't you dare think otherwise!" All the woman could do was shake her head through the crying. "Look at me," he demanded, giving her a shake. Once she finally lifted her head, glasses fogged up a bit from her crying, he felt his heart lurch in his chest. God she was beautiful. He carefully removed her glasses and wiped the tears from her face. With nothing in the way, her eyes were just even more captivating. He took her face in his hands, leaning down close. "I don't know what ever gave you the idea that you're not doing any good out there, but you are. You're a fucking godsend. Do you think anyone else would be able to set up so many settlements, much less ones that have ghouls, synths, and humans all working together? You've saved more lives them I can even count. I wouldn't stick around if you weren't doing so much good." He stopped as she blinked slowly, eyes widening with surprise. "Maybe you should hear it more often. You are the best thing to happen to this place, to happen to me, Fay, and don't you think otherwise. We're going to find your son and make this a place to raise him. Not on your own, but with everyone. You've got tons of people that are willing to lay down everything to help you just as much as you have them, so take it." He ended his little speak, breathing heavily as the emotions swirling in his head pushed his heart into overdrive. He was going to make sure she understood!

Her mouth opened a bit, her expression completely awed at his outburst. It almost made him feel self conscious as she looked at him like that. "Wow," she said, letting out an airy laugh. "That's quite a spill there, Mister Hancock. It almost sounds like you care." Even a wet emotional mess, she managed a quip. He let out a frustrated growl and kissed her, tasting the salt and always present sweetness on her lips. His hands slipped into those long black locks, relishing the softness. Her lips gave to his almost instantly, allowing him to nip at her lips and twist his tongue with hers. It was impossible to hold back the groan as he moved his mouth down, tugging on her hair to pull her head back, allowing him access to that long column of her throat. The taste of vanilla was even stronger, covering up the sharp tang of radiation from everywhere else. He had to have her. It had been months since he'd first gotten to taste her and he couldn't take it anymore.

Fay held onto the labels of his coat as her legs weakened from the kiss, panting for breath. Dear lord, he was a sight. His eyes were bright with need, voice deep and the rumbles sent her toes curling. Using their height difference to loom over her, making her feel so tiny.

"You are going to be the death of me," he rasped out, backing her into his desk. She felt him reach around as he pushed everything off with an arm, lifting her up onto it. "Of course I fucking care! More then I should, more then I have for anyone else!" With creeping fingers, she felt the roughness of his skin that peeked through his shirt, whining when he growled and took her hand in his. "And you're right. I do run away. My whole life has just been running. First from Diamond City and my family, then leaving Goodneighbor with you. Even turning into a ghoul was just another attempt to try and forget all the shit I've done." Her thoughts cleared a bit from the hot haze, focusing on Hancock's face as he spilled his heart. "I knew what that drug would do to me. I wanted it. I-I was tired of seeing the face of a coward every morning when I woke up. The face of someone that did nothing, just let people die and be abused as he hide behind chems and women. But when you stepped into my town, dishing out justice looking like some wasteland angel, something changed. I don't know what, but I needed it. Helping you, getting out there and doing good for those that need it, feels right. I haven't felt like I've belong in so long. And I belong next to you."

His words hit her hard and Fay felt her heart throb. This poor man had been through so much and yet even with it all, he still managed to try and make a place for people to go. For all his telling her she to realize the good she did, he needed to open his eyes and do the same. "John," she whispered, laying a hand on his cheek. "You poor, sweet hypocrite. You should have nothing to be ashamed of. You did what you could to help people, more then anyone else could or would do." She let her hand slide down from his face, neck, stopping on his chest, right over his heart. "You have a good heart." Her legs slide up over his hips, pulling them closer together. The heat shot through her and they both let out small noises of pleasure. "Not to mention the best looking man in the Commonwealth. I haven't felt anything like this since Nate and I'm not letting it go."

"You sure you want to wake up to this mug every morning?" he breathed, hands gripping her hips tightly.

"I wouldn't have any other there, you dolt." The grin that split his face sent all the heat right to her lower half, causing her to pull him even tighter against her.

"As hot as it is to watch you two roll around on the furniture, I really appreciate it if you'd get the fuck off my desk." Fay sat up with a squeak, looking over Hancock's shoulder to see Fahrenheit standing in the doorway, a hand on her hips and eye brows raised.

John just let out a lot groan and hide his face in her neck. "Give me a break, Far. I was just about to get some!" he mumbled loudly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Get it somewhere else," the redhead snapped, crossing her arms. The ghoul pulled away reluctantly and helped her down off the desk. Fay blushed as Fahrenheit ran her eyes over her, trying to straighten out her clothes and hair. Of course she looked like she'd been ravaged.

"Sorry, Fahrenheit," she managed, watching as Hancock pulled out a cigarette and lit it, somehow managing to look relax and casual after everything. "Before…that, I did come here for a reason. I wanted your opinion on some ways to handle the trade routes out to here." The older woman nodded, settling down on a couch. Ignoring the hot gaze her partner had on her the whole time, she began to go over everything. There was always work to be done.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yeah. So, sorry. It's been way too long. Working 15 hour days kinda takes up all of my free time. Plus my birthday and some new games. Distractions. But as requested, this chapter has some naughty stuff in it. I'm hoping it works as well as I hope. I'm still kinda rusty on that part. If you don't like the smut, you can always scroll past it. I also finally get to introduce a new character I've been planning for a while now. It's one thing I've realized most people don't put into fics. I really do hope you enjoy it!**

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It had been too long since she'd been home. Fay stepped over the bridge into Sanctuary, sighing in relief. The place as bustling, much to her pleasure. The small farm was covered in people bringing in the fall harvest, some in the few shops that were finally been set up around the giant tree in the cul-de-sac, and more perched on look outs around the fence. Hancock let out a long whistle, looking around with wide eyes. "Damn, doll. You've got this place jumpin'! I don't think I've seen a settlement this...organized before," he said, pushing his hat back to look at the wall better.

She couldn't hold back a grin at the compliment. "My father was a design engineer. After watching him make so many blueprints for his military and city contracts, it's easy to figure out how to arrange everything so it's not a giant mess. Diamond City is a pretty bad example."

"And it took ages to set up half the stuff," MacCready grumbled, hands stuffed in his pockets. His mood had been absolute shit the whole way over. Even with Hancock being on his best behavior, just the fact that the ghoul was along seemed to grate on him. How they'd managed to work together long enough to find her before, she had no idea. But now Fay couldn't help but feel guilty.

"The work shows. Man, just imagine if the whole Commonwealth had places like this." The mayor sounds like a kid in a candy store, practically skipping. "You're takin' the Minutemen to a whole new level."

"You really think so?" she asked, slowing her steps so they were side by side.

Hancock winked at her, his usual grin growing. "Totally. And I can hook you up with some more know how on managin' things."

"How exactly did you manage anything between all your booze, chems, and women?" RJ snickered, lengthening his steps to be at her left side. The ghoul slapped a hand over his heart at her comment.

"You wound me! I do plenty of work, ya know! I just don't let the people know. Can't have them thinking I'm some pencil pusher. Make me look bad."

Fay just hummed skeptically at him, stepping onto the porch of her house. Two months of work, off and on, she had finally finished it. Three bedrooms, an actual serviceable kitchen, a good sized living area, office, and munitions room. It hadn't been an easy task, but she was extremely happy with it. Dogmeat came barreling around the corner, loud barks causing Hancock to jump. Fay dropped to her knees, arms open, and caught the dog. "Dogmeat, how's my boy? Were you good while I was gone?" she cooed, scratching her fingers from the base of his tail then up to his ears and back. A wet kiss and a thumping leg was her answer and she laughed.

RJ slipped around her and threw the door to the house open, boots clomping on the wooden floor. The slam of his door echoed out and she cringed a bit and sighed. Dogmeat titled his head to the side in question and she just ruffed his ears and stood, putting on a tight smile.

"General!" The three turned to look as Preston jogged up, slinging his laser rifle over his shoulder and a hand holding down his hat. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"Hey, Preston," Fay said, dropping her pack on the rusted metal end table and plopped onto an equally rusty lawn chair. The Minuteman stopped at the edge of the porch, giving Hancock a wary look. The ghoul just smirked and sat in the other chair, finding another cigarette to light. "This is John Hancock, mayor of Goodneighbor. John, this is Preston Garvey, my second in command."

Preston just nodded towards John, then stepped up to salute her. "I know you just got back, but we really need to have a meeting. All of these routes need to be finalized. Not to mention with the increase of people, training regiments and patrols at each settlement are-" She held up a hand, cutting him off.

"Hold on. The most important thing I need to know is how are the people doing?" No matter what happened, she needed to make sure that the settlers were actually healthy and about as happy as someone could be in this place.

The man paused, scratching his head just under his hat. "Uh, fine. A few arguments over beds, but nothing too bad."

"Good." She slid down farther on the chair, propping her feet up on John's knee. "The debriefing can wait until tomorrow. I plan on having the mayor here join in to give us some help on organizing things a bit more." Preston deflated a bit, almost pouting, but nodded. The man finally left, leaving her in peace, at least for a bit. Her head was buzzing with plans and ideas. She needed to get a formal set up for complaints and requests from other settlements, someone to make a shortened list of it all, start up a settlement fund for any purchases they needed. Light fingers on her calf jerked her from her thoughts. Hancock was watching her from the corner of his eye, a hint of worry on his face. She gave him a tired smile. How he could tell when her brain was working over time was a mystery. "Ready for a tour?" she asked, pulling her legs away and pushed up from the chair.

"Only if I get to tip," he replied, grinning as she snorted.

"We'll see." Fay stepped through the doorway and clicked on the lights. She'd tried her absolute best to find clean, unbroken things and it showed. The sofas weren't faded, smooth vases in bright colors were placed on end tables, a few knicknacks and pictures frames, decorative pillows, and even drapes. It had to feel like a home for when she brought Shaun back. "The living room!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out for over dramatic flair. Hancock made silly little oohs and aahs as she showed him the rest, skipping her office for fear of what she'd find inside. Last stopped at her room and pressed her back to it and held a hand up. "This is my room. It is off limits to boys. You can have the one at the end of the hall."

Suddenly given a rule, Hancock leaned forward with a glint in his eye. "You're room, hm? What makes you think I'm going to sleep by myself?"

Fay narrowed her own eyes. "Because," she said, lowering her voice, "I don't want to cause more issues with RJ." He let out a frustrated growl and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'm getting' real sick of this shit, Fay. Why do I gotta keep walking on egg shells around him? He's a man. He has to deal with this."

She tugged on her braid as the guilt gripped her heart. "I know, I know. But I have a plan. Something that will keep him busy and maybe give him a new goal."

"Really now?"

"Yes. Now, I need you out of the house for a bit while I talk to him. Go take a walk around the place, maybe inspect the defenses. Possibly even make a list of improvements?" She batted her eyes lashes at the word list, drawing a quick laugh from him.

"I don't get what is with you and lists, but okay." He reached out and grabbed her braid from her hand, running his thumb over the pleats of hair. "But first you deserve a tip." The dark rumbles of his voice sent a chill down her spine and she was already instinctively rising onto her toes. The kiss he gave her was short and sweet but still managed to send her heart racing. After it was over, he adjusted her glasses a bit, giving her the brilliant smile he only showed when they were alone. The joy that blossomed in her seemed to just wash away the worries and clutter of thoughts. "See you in a bit, love." All she could do is nod and lean against the door, watching him stroll out.

As the elation faded, she focused on the door to MacCready's room. She'd been thinking over the idea the entire trip back to Sanctuary. It was a good one, not just for his sanity, but for the Minutemen as well. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and then slowly opened the door. Her friend was lazily sprawled on a rickety chair before the desk, a few bottles of alcohol framing a scatter of rifle parts. His cheeks were already a bit red from the alcohol and he was just glaring at a scope he held in his hands. "RJ?"

"What is it?" he asked, hunching his shoulders to avoid her eyes. The atmosphere was thick with more tension and her nerves were like strings on a guitar.

"Just wanted to talk," she said softly, closing the door behind her and leaned against the desk. All she could see was the top of his hat and the tip of his nose. It hurt to have him pull away from her so much. "I've been making some plans for this next step I have to take and I...wanted your input."

"Oh, so now you want my opinion?" he snapped, jerking his head up to turn his glare at her.

Fay pulled back slightly, folding her arms defensively around herself. "Yes," she snapped back. The guilt would only let her take his attitude for some long. "God damn it, RJ. I'm trying to make this work. Why are you being like this?"

"Why do you think, Fay? How about Hancock drooling all over you like you're some floozy or how you egg him on! You act like I don't know you're fucking him!"

Her hand met the wood of the desk with a crack, scattering parts to the floor. "Don't you dare accuse me of anything," she said lowly, trying hard to push down the anger that had boiled over. "For your information, we haven't _fucked_. John promised not to do anything until you're comfortable with the whole situation." All he did was turn his head away and scoff. It made her want to pull her hair out. So she just continued, hoping his attitude would go. "I'm sure the thought has occurred to you, but I have to go into the Glowing Sea. I can't take you with me." She paused as he turned his head back and held up a hand before he could interject. "Don't even start. It's too risky taking more people that aren't immune to radiation. I also have no idea how long I'll be gone and I need someone I can trust to take care of things while I'm gone." His frown faded as she caught his attention.

"What plan do you have brewing in your head?" he asked, sighing and taking his hat off to run his fingers through his hair.

"Recruitment, training, and settlement relations." His brows rose and she smiled a bit as those blue eyes went sharp with peaked interest. "I need you to go to Diamond City and work with Piper on making up some posters, fliers, and maybe even an article, about the Minutemen. I want to spread the word that people can survive out there. Plus you've helped me a lot with getting the settlements up and running, so you're the only one I can trust to make sure they're getting along okay. Travel from place to place, let Piper get some interviews from everyone. While she does that, you can start sending anyone interested in patrolling to the Castle so we can start training regiments. Maybe even pick out a few for a special sniper squad." As the information sank in, he sat up straight, the sour mood seeming to evaporate.

"You trust me with all that?" The uncertainty in his voice hit a tender spot in her.

She leaned down and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Of course I do, RJ," she said softly, smiling as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against her shoulder. "You're the only one I want doing it." His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a hug. Her own slipped around his neck, feeling his whole body relaxed as he let out a long weary sigh.

"I'm sorry, Fay. I don't mean to be such a pain. I just...I can't help it. It still hurts to see him around and-" She squeezed him hard, cutting him off.

"I know." They both pulled back a bit. "Now, Major MacCready! You have your orders! I expect to find reports on my desk every week, even if I'm not there. And you must protect the civilian reporter at all costs." That pulled a chuckle from him and she stepped back all the way. "Are we okay again?" she asked quietly.

Her heart warmed as he nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Yeah. So I'm a Major now? What will Garvey think of that?"

"He has no say in it. I'm the General so that makes me his boss!" They shared another laugh, finally back to a comfortable level. "Now, do me a favor and go grab some squirrel meat from the storage shed. I'm going to make us dinner."

The man screwed up his face. "Your cooking? Do you want to scare Hancock away?" He dodged her hand as she swatted at him, slipping from his chair to the door. "Okay, okay! I'm going!" She listened to the sound of his feet thumping down the stairs and let out a breath. That had gone better then she'd thought. After Piper spoke about borrowing him for an article, the idea had occurred to her. What better way to distract him from his lingering feelings for her then by sticking him with an attractive young woman with more energy then a mole rat on Psycho? Piper wasn't subtle when she showed interest in something as well. It would be a good match or at least enough to let him focus on other things.

Fay shook herself and headed down stairs and into the kitchen, pulling out her miserable supply of herbs and spices she'd managed to scrounge up. Garlic, basil, cilantro, oregano, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, ginger, cinnamon, and even a bit of curry powder. There was barely half a jar of each one and they were extremely stale, but it was enough that she could keep even the wasteland meats to at least a manageable taste. RJ returned and dropped a good pile of squirrel bits on the counter, then stole up a seat at the table. "So, what're you making, boss?"

She glanced back, watching that lazy smile spread on his face as she rolled the pieces in spices. "You'll see!" She had an old can of potato soup, some even older pasta, and more spices dumped into a pot, as the meat sizzled in a pan to sear. Soon the house was filled with the scent of dinner and MacCready was groaning from his chair.

"That smells so gooood! You need to cook like this more often!" Fay smiled and dumped the meat into the pot along with a bit of water, turning the heat up to let it boil.

"We're never home or I would. I miss getting to be domestic," she said, sitting down on another chair, relaxing into the homey atmosphere. It was...almost like before. When she was off from work, so close to having Shaun but too antsy to sit around with her feet up. She'd putt around the kitchen for hours, experimenting with spices or attempting complicated recipes. Nate would always laugh so hard when he came home to find every surface in the kitchen covered in dishes. They'd invite her brother over and have a nice dinner, with enough leftovers to last everyone a week. The thread of sadness crept up, pulling at her heart like a noose. She missed them both so much.

A hand took hers, pulling her from her memories. RJ was crouched before her, a look of worry on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"Ah, nothing. Just remembering my family is all. I still miss them a lot," she said, giving a watery laugh. "Sorry, I'm fine now." With a deep sniff, she cleaned her face and stood, stirring the soup as steam being to pour from the pot. "Now, be a dear and get out some dishes. John should be back soon enough." The young man just groaned again, dragging his feet as he pulled bowls from a wobbly cabinet. Within seconds, the front door banged open and closed against followed by a rather suggestive moan.

"What in the world is that smell? Have I died and gone to heaven?" Fay couldn't stop the smile as Hancock leaned into the room, sniffing heavily and cackling. "Damn, woman! You are everything. Beautiful, deadly, and you can fucking cook," he crowed, sidling up to peer into the pot as she removed it from the heat.

"It's just squirrel stew. Now sit down." She swatted away his grabby hands with the hot spoon and he sulked to a seat, rubbing his knuckles. Everything was portioned out and quickly enough, she had a moment of peace as the two stuffed their faces.

"I've never tasted anything like this," RJ mumbled around a mouthful, sucking in air to cool it down.

"Old world spices. I've managed to find a good stash in a bunker under one of the houses here. They're not very effective due to age but with how you've eaten nothing but bland, disgusting irradiated food for your whole life, even a little spice will go a long way," she said, eating her own bowl a bit slower. All the two did was grunted and continue eating and all she could do was giggle. Thankfully the food was enough to distract them, keeping things peaceful. Until Preston showed up again.

After he knocked on the door, Fay just gave him the grumpiest stare she could through the cracked door. At least he felt bad this time, guiltily rubbing his head as he entered. "What is it, Preston?" she asked, trying very hard to keep her aggravation down and handed him a bowl of the stew as he perched on the edge of her over stuffed reading chair.

"Abernathy Farm sent out a request for additional lookouts. They've had issues with super mutants scoping the place out and felt it would be a good idea to be prepared if they attack soon." He ate a spoonful of stew and if his eyebrows had gone any farther up, they'd have been off his head. "This is amazing, General!"

"Yes, thanks, but why exactly are you coming to me with this problem? You know everyone's skills better than I do. I'm sure you can pick out a few spare hands to send out there."

Preston pursed his lips, eyes locking onto something behind her. Fay looked back and saw MacCready leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "I think he wants me to go, boss." Well...it would be a good idea. She'd almost forgotten the long letter she'd sent to Preston about the topic. It would be the time he'd have to deal with the new responsibilities she'd given him. But it worried her to send him off on his own so soon. They'd always fought together for months now, never apart. Seeing the face she made, RJ snorted and shook his head. "Stop worrying. I'll be fine. I can start showing people how to actually hold weapons while I'm there."

"Are you sure? I mean, we only just got back. You need a break." she asked, watching as he grabbed his pack and rifle.

"I'm sure, Fay. I was on my ass for almost a week with that damn arm. That was enough of a break for me. I'll make sure to send word back with the caravan, once I get things more secure there. Might take a few days." She grabbed his sleeve to stop him before he could run out the door. Their eyes met and she could see the emotions there. He was running. Just like she had.

"Be careful, Robert." He just nodded, giving her a forced smile.

RJ turned to Hancock who was lounging on the couch, face going grim. "You better protect her, Hancock."

The ghoul returned his look. "Nothin' happened to her last time and it won't ever with me around," he snapped, pride obviously hurt that anyone would even question his prowess. And with that, her friend left, Preston trailing awkwardly behind and casting questioning looks at Fay and Hancock over his shoulder. Fay closed the front door with a sigh, feeling the beginnings of a headache creeping up the back of her skull. "Don't worry about him. He's the best shot in the Commonwealth for a reason," Hancock said, popping a Mentat as he sprawled on the couch.

"I know. I can't help but worry about him." He gestured for her to join him and she sat down on the sofa as well, side pressed to his. Trying hard to not think about RJ, she did her best to change the subject. "So, what did you think of our walls?"

His arm slipped around her waist and he shrugged, fingers toying with the edge of her shirt. "They're impressive. Better then our walls, that's for damn sure. The only thing that would make me nervous is all the inexperienced hands. Half of them are more likely to scare raiders when their voices crack then with gun shots."

A snort laugh escaped her. "Unfortunately. A good number of our more seasoned people are out getting that advanced training. Tato farmers can only get so far with pipe pistols. I was thinking about heading out there myself and get more training with...uh, with…." She trailed off as those long fingers of his slipped under the hem of her pants, rubbing circles on her hip. The contact derailed her train of thought, pulling a small noise of pleasure as she leaned into him more. His fingertips had that rough texture, just enough to feel almost too good to be true.

The fingers stopped once her talking did and he chuckled. "Keep goin'. I wanna hear your plans," he murmured, arm tightening around her.

"It's hard to do anything with your busy hands. You're trying to distract me, aren't you."

"Caught red handed. Though I haven't heard any complaints." All she could do was take a sharp breath as his fingers slipped around and dug into her backside, gently massaging a cheek. She unconsciously shifted to give him more access, hiding her face in his shoulder. "Hmm, did I find something nice here?" Words still lost, she didn't protest when he slipped his hand free and tugged her onto his lap. Both hands were quickly on her ass to knead and tease, lifting her up just enough to run his lips along her neck as well. With no where to hid her face, she tried her best to stifle a groan unsuccessfully, fingers gripping the cushion behind his head. It drew pulling another laugh from him, his breath hot on her skin. Yes, he'd found her spot. But god, did it feel good to have his hands there. "Damn, you have the best ass, love," he growled and nipped at her ear. The action sent a wave of heat through her, pulling a hot flush to her skin. All thoughts of earlier in the day were gone. No fears, no doubts, just the mindless urge to take.

Fay let out a breathless laugh. "Having a kid does that to you," she said thickly, "But so does all the endless hiking." Those hot hands drifted around to tug at the buttons on her thread bare flannel. Her own joined in, fumbling the cracked pearls through and shrugged the cloth off. Hancock let out a groan as he traced her stomach, finger tips catching on the slight dips from the muscles. The paths drew goosebumps behind and sent a shiver up her spine.

"Fucking beautiful," he breathed and placed a kiss to her collarbone. She sat down fully on his lap, earning a hiss from between his teeth as she was able to grind a bit, and took his face in both hands. Their breath mixed as they locked eyes, the cold metal of the buttons and buckle on his belt digging into her breasts as she pressed closer to him. Both were breathing heavy, though barely anything had happened so far.

She licked her lips and smiled a bit as he cupped her ass again. "Let's take this to a bed," she said lowly, "Splinters from a half broken couch don't sound like the biggest turn on." She gave him a brief kiss and slipped off, almost falling up the stairs in her haste. He was close enough behind, fingers reaching out to pinch her when she wasn't fast enough. The door to her room was thrust open and she rushed in, tripping over the rug and thankfully landing face first onto the bed. The air was much colder, making her shiver.

"Oh, mama. Let me just take in this view," Hancock hollered, pulling the door closed behind him. Fay grinned as she pushed up onto her knees, pillowing her head on her folded arms on the bed and looking back at him. Apparently he was an ass man, judging by the way his eyes lit up and that grin split his face. She turned over with another laugh, sitting up to kneel at the edge of the bed and reached out to grab the knotted flag around his waist and pull him closer. She deftly undid the knot, slipping the faded flag free and onto the floor. His hands were in her hair as she pulled the belt off next, locking her fingers onto his waistcoat as he undid her braid and wrapped the tangles tresses around his hand, pulling her head back. Her breath caught in her throat as his eyes ran over her then leaned down, claiming her mouth with his. He pushed her down onto the bed, sliding a knee between her legs and eating up every muffled moan, only pulling back to let her push his coat and waistcoat off.

It was overwhelming. Nerves that hadn't been used in centuries kicked on, sending waves of stimulation, stronger then anything had ever been before. When he trailed kisses down her chest and just barely grazed over a chilled nipple with his lips, she almost came right there. Hancock stopped, mouth hovering over the peak with a grin. "What was that?" he asked, the grin widening when she squirmed from the puff of breath.

"I th-think two hundred years without any action has," she stopped to catch her breath, "possibly made me a bit extra sensitive."

"Oh, you shouldn't have told me that, love," he purred, rough fingers gliding over her sides to hook on the hem of her pants. His knee pushed up against her heat, sliding up and down a bit to pull out a wonderful friction. Her hips bucked on their own as she chocked back a moan, biting down hard on her bottom lip. The whole time, he was watching the emotions play on her face, still smiling like a cat that ate the canary. Then he decided to use his mouth. His tongue was hot as it circled her nipple, causing her eyes to roll back and her back to arch. It was indescribable, the feeling, the texture. She couldn't hold back the whimper that slipped out and gasped as he drew it in to suck lightly. His hand played with the other one, just rubbing his palm over it slowly. If this was what it was like just with foreplay, she couldn't imagine what the rest would be like.

At last, he moved down, swiftly unbuttoning her pants and tugging them down a few inches, laying more kisses along the ridges of her hips. Feeling impatient, she twisted, locking her legs around his hips and flipped them. Hancock just hummed happily as she caught her breath while leaning over him, his hands behind his head and hat askew, close to falling off. Fay couldn't keep back a smile at the sight. She snatched the wrinkled leather hat from his head, placed it on her own, and slid off, starting to unlace her boots. He kicked his own off quickly, discarded his shirt as well and stopped to watch her peel the leather off her legs all the way.

Fay felt suddenly shy under his intense gaze. Standing in front of him in nothing but an old pair of holey underwear and his crooked hat, gave the feeling of being naked, not just physically, but emotionally, she supposed. Her fingers reached up and tangled in the ends of her hair instinctively. Hancock noticed the gesture and he smiled at her, his whole face softening. He took her free hand and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her shoulder. "You don't have to be nervous. You look better in that cap then I do, as much as it kills me to say," he said, chuckling a bit.

She laughed as well, tracing her fingers over his cheek and down his neck. "Leather works on me. I doubt you could pull off wearing my pants...though it would be nice to see you try." His shoulders shook with more laughter while his hands starting to wander again. She wasn't able to bite back a whimper as he ran a single finger along her underwear, already damp from the play. Just that slightest touch caused her muscles to clench and tense.

"Mmm, someone's ready to go." His whole chest rumbled with a low growl and he nipped at her throat, fingers hooking on her underwear. "You want to continue?" To answer his question, she reached down and ran her own fingers over the bulge in his trousers, circling the tip slowly. A nice low groan came from him and he yanked her underwear off, the tatter fabric ripping easily, tossing what was left to the floor. Before she could protest the unneeded destruction, his thumb brushed her clit and every nerve in her body screamed, vision almost going completely white for a second. A stream of curses escaped her as she slumped into him. "You weren't kiddin'," he said, a bit of amazement in his voice. "Was that a finish or-"

"Fuck, I wish. I think you kill a few brain cells though," she wheezed, "I feel like a short circuited computer."

"Can't have you burning anything out. I'll just have to be extra careful." Those sly fingers made their way up her thighs again and slipped between her wet folds, avoiding the bundle of nerves. A single digital slid into her, causing her to tighten up more. The feeling pulled a loud moan from her and she buried her face in his shoulder, fingers digging into his back. "God, you're tight, love," he half moaned, easing the finger in and out slowly. His voice in her ear was low and deep, matching the slow drag as he teased her with his fingers. Soon he added a second, gradually stretching her out. The texture was amazing, leaving her in a state where she could only pant and bite down more louder noises. Until there was a loud pounding at the front door downstairs. They both froze, listening for who it was. A muffled shout, sounding like Preston made it's way through the walls and she pulled back from Hancock.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Fay growled, throwing on the nearest piece of clothing and stormed down the stairs. She grabbed a gun from the table before kicking the door open, she stood in the doorway. With Hancock's shotgun in her hands, his coat slightly buttoned up over her naked form, and the tricorn crooked on her head, she glared down at Preston with pure murder in her eyes. The sight would give anyone a scare. Her second in command held up his hands, looking absolutely terrified in the dull glow of her porch light. "There better be a fucking horde of super mutants with power armor and missile launchers swarming the gates. Because that is the only good reason you have to be bothering me right now!" she yelled, cocking the weapon and pointing it at him. The coat slipped from one shoulder, just barely covering her chest. Hancock stepped down the stairs behind her, shirtless and looking just as pissed as she did with his pants riding low. Without the layers of coats on him, it was easy to see the corded muscles under all the scars. The Minuteman looked between the two, eyes widening until they looked about ready to pop out.

"I-It's nothing that bad, General. I'll just leave you alone!" he squeaked and took off in the opposite direction, leaving an impressive trail of dust under the many lights shining down on the cracked road.

She turned and slammed the door, throwing the gun on the coffee table and letting out a loud growl. "I swear, that man. I'm going to strangle him one of these days!" she shouted, pulling at her hair.

Hancock took her by the shoulders and backed her into the wall, grumbling himself. "I don't think it would look too good on the Minutemen to have their general gun the second in command down while wearing nothing but the fashionable coat belonging to the mayor of Goodneighbor." A laugh managed to escape her as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

"I suppose so," she said softly, kissing the hard line of his throat and smiled as he shivered a bit. "Is the mood completely ruined?" Before she could blink, he had her lifted up, legs wrapped around his hips and his hands holding her bare ass to spread her slightly. Heat flashed up through her as she felt the rough head of his length pressed slightly into her folds. How he'd managed to get his pants down so fast, she'd never know.

"The mood is never ruined, love," he growled in her ear, breath heavy as he held himself back. "But this is the last time I'm asking. Are you sure about this?" He pulled back just enough to look over her face, the hesitation, the vulnerability just glowing in his eyes. He was scared she'd say no.

She pulled him down for a soft kiss, feeling her heart flutter as he held her tighter through it. Once they parted, she tightened her legs around his hips more, pulling him into her in one swift move. She cried out at suddenly being so full, covering up his own loud moan, and both held still to not break the moment. "I-I think that says enough," she said breathlessly, whimpering a bit as he twitched inside her. Gods, he was enormous. Or at least felt that way with how tight she was after hundreds of years of no sex.

He hid his face in her shoulder and hissed her name, body impossibly tense as the faint pop of gunfire broke through in the background. After a moment, she felt herself relax a bit more, adjusting to his size and bucked her hips a bit, sucking in a breath as she accidentally bumped her clit. His hands tightened and shifted once he finally began to move. The pace was deliciously slow, taking her breath away and turning her blood to fire. At her noises he, picked up speed, pushing her harder into the wall. Unfortunately shards of wood from the wall started to dig into her back through the coat. "Ow, ow, splinters!" she squeaked, causing him to stop. "Couch, now, please!"

Hancock just laughed and turned, dropping her to the old cushions to kick off his pants. "You seem to be handling my wood just fine, doll," he said, wiggling a brow at her. Fay snorted and ran her hands over his chest as he crawled atop her, fitting snugly between her legs.

"Thankfully you're a bit younger then the stuff I built this place out of or I'd have splinters from you as-" Her sentence cut off with a moan as he entered her again, shifting her hips up more to push in deeper then before.

"As nice as your voice is, I'd wanna hear some other noises come from you," he said roughly, the new pace faster. She was all to happy to oblige, no longer trying to keep down the sighs and cries. It was easy to feel the damage that had been done to his skin down there. All the ridges and bumps felt amazing rubbing against her walls. All too soon, she could feel everything tightening up and the shaking in her thighs. He must have as well as he went harder, the sound of skin slapping together filling the room. He angled up a bit more up to hit just the right spot and the tension snapped. Her back arched up off the couch as she cried out, feeling herself clenched around him, quivering when he didn't stop moving. Once the shuddering stopped, she collapsed down, muscles turned to jelly. He came to a stop and leaned down, a huge grin on his face. "That was fast. Don't tell me you're done already," he whispered in her ear, placing kisses down her chest where the coat had popped open during their actions.

"Not even close," she panted, moving her hips and drawing a grunt from him. "I am a lady, after all. I can keep going as long as you can." His own breath was fairly heavy against her skin as she pulled him closer. This time she matched her hips to his movements, running her mouth over his chest, nibbling at the larger scars. The attention seemed to draw a better response from him, his body tensing up and thrusts coming faster. Doing her best to ignore her own sensations, she scratched her nails along his back and bit down on the tendon on his shoulder, getting a loud growl and an even harder thrust. "Fuck, John," she groaned, "Harder! I won't break!" With the encouragement, he let loose, taking on a frenzied speed, fingers digging into her hips as he held her still. Fay threw her head back, unable to do anything as another orgasm took her. His own followed as he yelled, almost roared and they both fell to the couch in a hot tangle. "I can't feel my limbs," Fay said, muffled into his neck as he laid atop her.

Hancock rumbled in agreement, arms curling around her under his coat and turn them on their sides. She smiled once they were face to face, squeezed together on the small piece of furniture. "It's been way too long," he panted, pressing his forehead to hers.

"What do you mean?" The ghoul grimaced a bit, looking sheepish. That alone was enough to peak her curiosity. "Cmon, tell me!"

"I, eh, haven't really been around in a few months," he mumbled, looking at the ceiling. She couldn't stop the grin that grew on her face.

"The famously promiscuous mayor of Goodneighbor hasn't had sex in months? You're kidding me, right?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said there was something with us. After you took off, it just didn't feel right," he said, frowning a bit as he met her eyes again. Fay felt her heart lurch at the confession, her grin fading to a warm smile as she cupped his cheek.

"That's oddly sweet, John," she whispered and kissed him softly. The moment was almost too perfect as they curled together against the chilled air. "We should go upstairs again. Some warm blankets sound good."

"Perfect. Then I can see how sturdy that headboard you have on your bed is," he murmured into her skin as he placed a quick kiss before sitting up.

"Not what I was getting at, but okay," Fay said, following suit and trying to stand on wobbly legs. Hancock scooped her up with a laugh, swept up the stairs and into the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

* * *

"I don't think that piece of junk is going to keep any rads out." Fay stood in front of the old suit of power armor, or at least what was left of it, with Sturges. The short man prowled around the twisted metal, poking at the jagged claw marks and massive amounts of rust while shaking his head. "This thing isn't salvageable. You'll definitely need to find a new one." She crossed her arms and pushed out her bottom lip in a pout.

"Any clue where I could find another one?" she asked, kicking at a piece of leg armor across the smooth concrete floor of the big work shed.

Stugres scratched at his well kept pompadour, face screwed up as he thought. "I can think of a few but they're not easy to reach. The bigger packs of raiders usually have a suit or two, usually kept for the leader, but those wouldn't do to keep rads out. The occasional military check point and...uh well. You could always try the Brotherhood of Steel. They have more suits then they know what to do with."

The Brotherhood. Hm. She had been meaning to check in with the small recon team in Cambridge. Maybe they could come to some agreement to purchase some power armor. "I think the last option would be the safest route. Do you know anything about these guys?"

"Not much. Just some rumor that trickled up through the trade routes from the Capital Wasteland. Really militant, a bit ruthless, and obsessed with tech and keeping it for themselves. They have no tolerance for anything not human. Synths, mutants, and ghouls are all target practice."

She clicked her tongue and nodded. "I know they're gunning for the synths right now. I helped out a paladin a month or two ago and we had to fight through at least fifty of the damn older models." She unconsciously touched the hand shaped burn scar on her left arm. One of the synths had managed to survive the super heat from the rocket engine test and had grabbed her. Danse had crushed is quickly, but even Stimpacks couldn't get rid of the horrid mark. "I think it's time I pay them a visit."

"Just be careful. Everyone saw that big airship come in. There must be hundreds of them crawling all over the Commonwealth by now." Sturges clapped a big hand on her shoulder as he spoke, worry very obvious on his face. Fay struck a pose and held up a fist.

"You don't have to worry about a thing, Sturges. I've got these dangerous weapons and-" A glance over her shoulder showed Hancock siting beside Mama Murphy and a few children with a serious look on his face. One of the smaller kids, a skinny boy, was waving his arms about, miming gun recoil and hulking claw actions, putting on a show for everyone. She couldn't help but smile as the ghoul joined in, taking on the role of what she guessed to be a Deathclaw, stomping about as the children shrieked and chased him. It gave her that warm and fuzzy feeling and struck her heart into an accelerated beat when he looked up and caught her gaze, grinning widely before turning to chase the children. Sturges stepped up beside her and let out a guffaw. "And well, Hancock. He might not seem like much, but he's the best back up I could ask for."

"I've heard enough about Goodneighbor and it's history. Though this is a bit different from the rumors..."

She turned to look at the mechanic again. "Maybe you should have a talk with Preston then. I can't get him to even listen to a thing John says, much less take advice or plan anything out. I mean, the man was running a town before Preston was even with the Minutemen. Wealth of knowledge!" She brumbled, folding her arms. She didn't know how to approach the issue. She wasn't sure how old Preston was, but he was acting like a popular but dim school girl, turning his nose to a someone when they knew more then him. Maybe it was because of last night. Fay had apologized multiple times but all he did was shrug it off.

"He's probably jealous and a bit grumpy over having his ego hurt." She raised a brow at that one. "Completely serious, General. You're a good lookin' woman and I'm sure Garvey's noticed. You're gone for weeks and then march back in, trailing a new man with you that has a world of know how more then he does. Not to mention it's hard to miss the eyes you keep makin' at each other." He lowered his voice at the last part and she felt her face warm up.

"That obvious? Shit."

"Not to everyone. Though you waving a shotgun around in nothing but his hat and coat doesn't help matters."

Fay groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "How much has that spread?"

Sturges grinned and lean back with his hands in his pockets. "Just me and Mama Murphy. Garvey looked about ready to die when he ran back from your place. Whispered it like the world was endin'." He burst out laughing as she groaned again and dodged a swipe from her arm. " 'ey now! I haven't told a soul. Don't you worry. And those pesky mole rats are in this afternoon's lunch."

"I can't believe he came to get me over mole rats. I'm seriously starting to doubt his ability to prioritize."

"I think it was just an excuse to get you away from me, love." She nearly jumped out of her boots at Hancock's voice behind her. "He's one green eyed monster if I've ever seen one," the ghoul said, sidling up beside the two and leaning down a bit to put an arm over her shoulders.

The mechanic sighed at the comment. "I'll have a chat with him. Let me know before you head out, Fay." She nodded to him and he strode off.

"So what's goin' on?" Hancock asked, eyeing the unusable suit of power armor. "I hope you're not wanting to use that piece of shit."

"Hell no. That thing didn't survive the damage it got from my wrestling match with a deathclaw. But Sturges did give me a few ideas on where I can get a new one. You up for a trip?"

"I'm always down for action, doll. Where we headin'?"

Fay hesitated to say anything. He wasn't going to like this much. "To Cambridge. I-" She paused, fiddling with her braid. "I'm going to talk with that Brotherhood recon unit I told you about. See if I can't do something to get a suit from them."

The arm over her shoulders stiffened and his fingers curled into her coat. "You're kidding, right? You want to go up to some crazy, cultastic metal heads and ask nicely if you can have some of their precious tech? They'll laugh at us so hard the tears'll rust their helmets on." She felt her jaw go a bit slack at his rather...over the top description of the Brotherhood. He did have a point. It was a far stretch to expect them to even consider it.

"I know it's stupid but it's the easiest option for now. If nothing comes of it, we can always work on clearing out raiders or going through some old military conveys. I just want to try the fastest option first. The faster I get to Shaun, then better." Hancock pulled away and paced the open space, hands shoved in his pockets as he grumbled. His eyes were so dark and angry, like he was ready to shoot someone.

"They'll kill you. If they get even a whiff of ghoul on you, they'll shoot you on the spot," he lowly, stopping his pacing with his back to her.

"Not Danse," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "We're on good terms. You know I can handle this kind of stuff. What's this about?" He gave no answer, just standing silently with his back still to her. "John?"

"Nothing. Let's get this shit over with," he spat out and stalked back to the house, leaving her in the workshop alone. She took a deep breath and held it, frowning after him. He'd been more then just unhappy. That look on his face was downright pissed. The breath escaped as she shook her head and followed after her ghoul. She'd deal with it later.

* * *

It was cold. So very very cold. Fay crouched atop a massive pile of rubble, using the bricks as cover, and watched Hancock creep along the street. This was a stupid idea. She breathed into her hands, trying to cup all the white steam as another fridge wind swept it away. What she wouldn't give to have Channel 5 back in the mornings to find out just how ungodly cold it would be that day. The loud crack of a shotgun pulled her from her thoughts as the last feral splattered everywhere. With all the enemies cleared out, she hopped up and slid down the small hill. Hancock didn't even look up from reloading his gun as she hurried up to him, huddling in on herself as another breeze swept through. She wasn't sure what cut more. His cold shoulder or the wind. "You alright? No injuries," she asked, tugging her hood further down on her head. He just nodded and slung his weapon on his back again before striding down the street towards the police station. All she could do is scurry after.

He'd been like this for the past two days. It was all she could do to get even a one word answer from him. Normally she couldn't get him to shut up with all the quips and innuendos. Now he kept a few feet between them, always leading with a stride too long for her to keep up with unless she jogged. Like just now, him taking out the small pack of ferals while she hunkered down and did nothing had been his idea. The argument had been all of ten words and ended quickly, with him completely ignoring her and charging into the pack on his own. It hurt to have him pull away like this. Was talking with the Brotherhood that much of an issue with him? Fay ground her teeth together in aggravation. She'd had enough of his attitude.

Once the station was in sight, she lunged forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a small darkened alleyway. With his back to the brick wall, she grabbed two fists of his coat and pulled him down to her eye level. He was obviously surprised by then way he didn't fight her grip, but his face still stayed a bit grim, eyes looking to the side to avoid her gaze. "God damnit, Hancock, what is your problem!" she yelled, pushing him into the bricks again. He didn't answer, of course. Those hot gnarled fingers just wrapped around hers and tried to tug her fingers from his coat. She refused to let go, giving his lapels another hard tug.

"Get off, Fay," he growled, finally looking at her.

"No! Not until you tell me what's wrong!"

"Nothing is wrong," Hancock snapped out, each word separated. He finally pried her hands off and tried to turn away but she latched onto his arm this time, pulling him back. They both struggled against each other, strength equal, but he had more reach.

"Bullshit," she spit out before her back hit the other wall and knocked the air from her. He grabbed the front of her coat, mirroring her earlier actions by pinning her to the wall. Her feet dangled at being lifted to his height, but that didn't stop her. "Yo-you've been silent this whole trip. Not once since we've met have you ever been quiet. And trying to take out every single asshole we come across on your own. I'm not some dainty princess to lock up in a tower. I could break your fucking arm with one hand if-" Her words cut off as he kissed her. His mouth was hot and angry on hers, biting and devouring. Her head swam at the contact and her hands weakly grabbed on his shoulders as he pressed his body against her fully.

He pulled back after a few moments and they both held still, panting and filling the air with more white steam. "You are so fucking stubborn," he breathed, voice still rough but sad sounding. "Fuck. You really wanna know?" Fay nodded weakly, sucking in a breath when he curled his hands tighter and hid his face in her hair. "I knew this gal once. Prettiest damn thing you'd ever seen. Ended up married to this old prewar ghoul named Barney, much to everyone's displeasure. Though it didn't stop them from giving the two their business. They had this shop just outside Diamond City where they made fancy rags for the richer people. She was the face of the place and he'd make the clothes. There was this one summer where there wasn't much to do and here I am, just at the age where I can admit how just nice ladies look. I'd been hanging around the place for a while and Miss Dee is nice enough to give me a job there. I could ogle all I wanted." He paused to shift their positions, letting her slide down the wall until her feet touched the ground. His voice was so sad and it made her heart ache.

"Now, this is before the city guard were really a thing. We took care of ourselves for the most part. So when this small group of dicks in power suits show up in town, no one really knows what to do. I didn't know it at the time, but it was the Brotherhood. They generally left those in the city alone. But they'd found out about Dee and Barney's shop real fast. They break in the door one day and get us all on our knees outside the store. They'd rounded up a bunch of folks and made them watch. Dee's just crying and begging for them not to kill Barney. All they do is spout off some self righteous spiel about how wrong she is and they're needing to cleanse the world of monstrosities. Blew his brains out right in front of us. Then they go to her, demanding if she'd fucked him. She spits on they and says 'Yes, I fucked my husband, you sons of bitches. I loved him.' So they killed her too." Fay chocked in a gasp, eyes wide. Why would they do that? Those two hadn't been bothering anyone! "The biggest one grabbed me by the shirt and held me up. 'Let this be a lesson to you, child. The Brotherhood will cleanse this place. The Commonwealth will be under the banner of steel soon enough.' Then they tossed me away like garbage and left."

Tears filled her eyes and she pressed her face into his coat, sniffling. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Hancock said, letting out a weary sigh. "But I won't ever forget it. Not long after that, the people started treating the ghouls in the city like shit. I was one of the few that tried to help but, well, you know where that ended."

Fay lifted her head and looked up at him, squinting through her now fogged up glasses. "You think they're going to kill me too if they find out about us? That everyone will hate me?" He looked away from her again, his whole form hunching down over her. She growled and stood on her toes to lean over and look at him again. "Well, tough luck, bucko. I'm not going to drop you just because of what some assholes think. I'll get some fucking power armor regardless of what anyone thinks."

Hancock's mouth tightened to a line and his eyes darkened. "Don't be stupid. If me bein' around slows you down from getting to Shaun, then we're done. The Brotherhood would be a lot more help at getting you to him anyhow."

"Don't you fucking dare!" she hissed and grabbed his jaw with her hands, pulling him down so their faces were pressed together. "I won't be able to make it to him without you! You keep me alive, sane, and as close to happy as I'll ever be until I have my baby back. Everyone else can go fuck themselves." Fay pull in a shuddering breath and gently ran her fingers along the side of his face. "I need you with me, you idiot," she whispered and kissed him. He returned it, lips gentle now that the worst of the fury had blown over. They were both so absorbed in each other that the loud click of a safety being turned off caused them to freeze.

"Step away from the woman," came a low voice and the barrel of a laser rifle pushed against Hancock's head. Fay stood on her toes again, trying to look around him, but he just pushed her down, arms wrapping around her.

"She seems to be enjoying my hands just fine, pal. Fuck off," the ghoul growled, pulling her closer.

"I won't ask you again, ghoul! Let her go right now!" Her heart jumped to her throat as she finally recognized the voice.

She caught John's gaze and looked right twice. He closed his eyes and growled again, letting go of her and stepping back. The barrel of the rifle followed him, but she quickly put herself between Hancock and the weapon. Paladin Danse blinked down at the small woman, letting it fall to point at the ground. "Danse. That's not a very nice way to greet a friend after so long," she said, placing a stiff smile on her face and held her hands out. The impossibly tall man looked good. Still had that dark, stern, and slightly awkward aura about him and those thick eyebrows that had drawn her to him initially. She felt her face turn pink and pushed the thoughts away.

"Jones? What the hell are you doing here." His eyes flicked over to John. "Much less with a thing like that." The ghoul growled again but she took a step back and pressed her back to his chest, quieting him down.

"I wanted to speak with you, actually. I saw the rather...over the top entrance your friends made. You guys might want to be a bit more subtle."

Danse coughed a bit at that, looking a bit embarrassed. Even with his power armor, when the man was awkward, it was easy to see. "Yes. They are prone to grandeur." He paused, finally taking his time to look over her, noticing how she'd started to shiver. Without Hancock wrapped around her, the frigid air cut right through her again. "Let's go back to the base. You need to warm up." She gave him a small relived smile and stepped forward, pulling Hancock with her. Danse immediately snapped his gun back up, pointing it right at the ghoul's face. "You're not going anywhere, ghoul. You're lucky I don't kill you right now," the paladin said lowly, thick brows lowering.

"No no! He's with me, Danse!" Fay lurched forward and grabbed onto the bulky metal around his arm. "This is John Hancock, mayor of Goodneighbor. He's local government." She licked her lips as her nerves tightened her chest, meeting Danse's brown eyes with her pleading green ones. "He does good work around here. You can trust him."

The power armor creaked loudly as he dropped his arm down again and took a step back, though he still didn't look very thrilled to have the mayor there. "Fine. It can come along, but if it does anything to threaten anyone, I can't promise anything." Then he turned and clunked past the two knights guarding the gates towards the station.

Fay let out a short, nervous laugh and turned to John. Those black eyes were locked onto the paladin's back, murder giving them a slight crazed shine. She smoothed out his coat with shaking hands. "You should probably wait out here," she said, straightening the belt across his chest. "I really don't want to chance someone having an itchy trigger finger."

He put those heady eyes on her and Fay felt her blood heat up and pool in inconvenient places. "Oh no, I'm going with you," he said lowly, voice even more gravely then normal. The ghoul swooped down and gave her a short and very hot kiss. It left her unsteady on her feet and he with a huge, vicious grin on his face. "C'mon, love. Let's rile up these tin cans."

Going through the gate was like walking a tight rope. Both the knights on guard duty eyed the two like they were giant mole rats that waked and talked. Fay did her best to give them nods, keeping her face stern and professional. All Hancock did was keep that scary grin on his face and stroll along behind her. The courtyard was covered in scribes and knights, many carrying cases of supplies, some scarps of tech and wires. Most didn't even glance at them as they climbed the stairs. As soon as they were inside the station, she let out a loud sigh as the warm air hit her face. Thank god for heaters. She quickly took off her oversized coat and stepped into the small interrogation room Danse used as his office. The man was sitting in one of the two chairs in just his orange jumpsuit, his power armor starting in the corner. Even without a person in it, the thing was still scary to her.

Danse sat up a bit straighter at the sight of her, giving her a warm smile as he took in her form, now much less bulky with the coat. She took the only seat left when he gestured to it with Hancock leaning against the wall just behind her. "I'm glad you decided to return, Jones," he said, giving Hancock a wary glance, "Have you given my offer some thought?"

"Yes. And I'll have to turn you down again," Fay said with a frown, glancing at Hancock as he snorted. "You know I have too many responsibilities to be loyal to the Brotherhood of Steel."

The soldier nodded and ran a hand through his thick hair. "That can easily be resolved. I will speak with Elder Maxson personally to make sure that we can help you find your son and-"

She held up a hand, stopping him, and leaned forward to rest her folded hands across her knees. "I get what you're saying, Danse. But I've been hearing a lot of stories about the Brotherhood since we last spoke. The majority of them not good. Killing any that don't agree with your ways, taking over entire settlements and stealing all their supplies even when they support your cause, murdering perfect safe and kind ghouls and the people that they love just because they're different. It doesn't paint a nice picture," she said lowly, trying her hardest to not let her anger show. "Why would I want to be apart of something that does nothing but hurt the few people out there that are trying to live and do good in the world?"

There was a moment of silence before Danse pushed out of his chair, carefully standing and clasping his arms behind his back. His face was a stern cold mask, and she stiffened in her hair and he stepped towards her. "The Brotherhood would never do those things. We are here to protect the people. Never in the years that I've been apart of this company have I done nor seen anyone steal or kill unless threatened." His tone spoke volumes of the violence her kept well chained. "I swear on my honor, Fay."

She clicked her tongue at considering his words. He spoke from the heart, his loyalty obvious. But having someone loyal didn't make the organization good. She believed that he hadn't done those things nor would he let them happen around him. It was possible that the majority of the Brotherhood was good. But it was impossible to keep every bad seed in check. "I believe you, Danse," she said, forcing a smile as he visibly relaxed. "But not every thing is perfect. There are some people in your command or around you that don't give two fucks about the civilians and wouldn't hesitate to rape and pillage their way through the Commonwealth. You can't deny that. But I think I'll trust you on this." Danse opened his mouth to argue but she held up her hand again. "Don't. I know what you're going to say." She swallowed back her nerves and gathered her thoughts. It was probably a bad idea to let this information out, but she had to tell at least Danse if she was going to get what she needed.

Hancock leaned down, his mouth close to her ear as the paladin paced the small room, trying to calm down. "You aren't seriously thinking about joining them, are you?" He must have been able to read her mind as he growled. "What the fuck are you thinking?!" he hissed, words oozing rage. She started to turn when Danse spoke up.

"I hope your little speech was more then just you bad mouthing the Brotherhood, Jones," he grumbled, sitting down in his chair again.

The woman looked at him again and sighed. Cluster fucks, everywhere. "Yeah, it is. I gotta update you on some things first. You remember what I told you before, right?" He nodded and she swallowed hard, readying herself. "I haven't found my son yet. I did found the man who killed my husband though. Let's just say revenge isn't sweet at all. But I dug up some more information. It's The Institute. The mercenary Kellogg passed my son off to them." Danse perked up more at that, leaning towards her. "And I found out how they're getting around the Commonwealth as well. Teleportation."

"You've got to be kidding!" Everyone in the room jumped and looked at the doorway to find a very red Haylen standing there, a hand over her mouth.

"Haylen!" Danse snapped, glaring at the young scribe. She squeaked and hurried off before anything else could be said. Fay couldn't help but snort at that.

"Anyways...I'm following another lead right now that could get me into the Institute itself. But I need your help."

"So you want to bargain instead of joining for the cause," the paladin said, crossing his arms. "I thought you were better then that..."

Her smile quickly turned to a frown. "Don't lecture me, Danse. Right now, I'm the only person that has even the slightest clue on how to get into the Institute, the entire reason the Brotherhood is in the Commonwealth right now. I'll gladly run around as your little errand girl as long as you help me get my son. Once I have him, you can do whatever you want with The Institute. Tell that to your Elder Maxson and see how willing he is to make a deal with me." She stood from her chair, staring down at the paladin for once. "I like you, I really do. You're a good soldier and a good person. Work with me on this."

Danse sighed and ran both hands through his hair this time, turmoil on his face. "Fine," he said after a moment. "Give me a day. I'll speak with the Elder and see what we can do."

"Thank you, Danse," Fay said softly, holding a hand out to him. He stood and shook her hand, eyes boring into her as he held on a bit too long then he should.

"You're welcome, Fay. I hope we can work together again soon," he murmured and slowly let her fingers go. She felt her face heat up at the words and nodded. In a louder voice, he called out into the main space of the station. "Haylen, get a radio ready for Ms. Jones, please." He looked back at both Fay and Hancock. "I'll radio you as soon as I have any new information."

Fay stepped out of the room, hand gripping her braid. Hancock was still silently seething behind her. The growls were just loud enough for her to make them out. They needed to get out of here fast before he did something stupid. "Here." She jerked her head up as Haylen stepped up and held out a hand radio. "It's already set to just our frequency here. Use it whenever you need to," she said, grinning. With a quick glance at the now closed office, she leaned forward. "And don't worry about Elder Maxson. He trusts Danse, so whatever he says, the Elder will almost certainly agree to." The bright and trusting smile put her heart a bit more at ease. The scribe really trusted Danse that much.

"Thanks, Haylen," she said, tucking the radio into her pack. "I know he'll do his best. I'll see you later."

"Wait!" Fay stopped, giving her a curious look. "I'm sorry, but I need your help with something. Please." She nodded for the scribe to continue. "We've been having some issues near the base lately. Someone is stealing power armor right off our paladins."

Fay's brows went up at that and she crossed her arms. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know," Haylen said, fidgeting in place. "But it's starting to become a major issue. We've had three suits taken already. If anyone goes out on patrol, something causes the suits to malfunction and they expel you out. So far, the reports say whoever is causing this knocks out whoever was in the suit and when they come to, they're perfectly fine but the armor is gone. We haven't been able to catch them yet but...I was hoping you could keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Well, this was an odd turn of events, but amusing. "Sure," Fay said, not even trying to hide her grin. "I'll figure it out for you. Though I might just keep one of 'em for myself if I do find them." The scribe laughed, not realizing how serious the older woman was. "I'll keep you up to date." Not wanting to stick around any longer, she threw on her coat, grabbed Hancock's arm, and left the base as fast as she could.

The streets were thankfully clear of any more ferals as they returned to the lone pile of rubble, far enough from the station that the judging eyes couldn't follow. Fay let out a sigh, leaning against the crumbling wall behind her. The days just never got any better. Now it was just a waiting game. Even if she did get some power armor, the entire plan could fall apart. Throwing in with the Brotherhood would be just another option for her. There was no doubting that they knew what they were doing. They would eventually find a way in if she couldn't on her own.

"You're insane." She looked up at Hancock as he swallowed a handful of Mentats. He was a nervous mess. She'd never seen him this wound up, pacing like a cage tiger, still wanting to kill someone.

"So I've been told," she replied, cringing as he set that hot glare on her. "Go ahead. Yell at me." All he did was start pacing again, pulling out and lighting a cigarette as he went. After what felt like an hour, he flicked the butt away and strode up to her, hands flexing. He let out a breath, trying to calm down and leaned down, pulling her glasses from her face and pocketing them. Then he cupped her cheeks in his hands, surprisingly gentle. His face was straight but she could see the chaotic mix of emotions in those dark eyes. "Do you trust me," she asked, leaning into his touch.

Those rough lips pressed to her forehead and traced down to her cheek and to her lips. It was short, but so sweet. "Yes," he finally said, breath rushing over her face. "Fuck, woman, you're driving me nuts. The only reason I'm not killing every single person in that place is because of you. I don't trust them and you shouldn't either."

"What makes you think I do? There are a few good people in there, but the majority? I'd rather not mess with." She stood on her toes and gave him a kiss of her own, pulling a low rumble of pleasure from him as she sucked on his ruined bottom lip. Her arms slide up around his neck and his around her waist as they deepened the kiss, tongues twisting. She could already feel the twist in her stomach as his hands cupped her bottom, fingers massaging lightly. It was almost painful to pull back as she placed open mouth kisses along his neck. "We need to find a place to camp out. Now," she panted against his neck.

They pulled apart and she lead the way down the road a bit, hasty with the chance for more. Rounding a corner, she froze at the sight of a small building in front of her. The Cambridge Campus Diner. It had survived the bombs, somehow. There was even light from the inside that managed to pierce the filth on the windows. Fay dropped Hancock's hand as she sucked in a breath, a wave of sadness hitting her like a tank. Her mother's diner. Hancock stopped beside her, looking confused as she looked up at the building, eyes welling up with tears. "What's wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She tore her eyes away and looked at him, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying. "This is my family's," she chocked out, walking up to rest her hand on the peeling sign beside the door. "My mother's side ran it. Always made good money, especially with all the hungry college students who couldn't cook for themselves." The corners of her mouth turned into a weak smile. "I didn't think it was still standing. The last time I was here was when I gave birth to Shaun. I'd stopped by to visit my grandpa when, bam, my water broke. There was this group of boys there having pancakes that just panicked. One even fainted." She gave a watery laugh and looked over at Hancock as he stood a few feet behind her. He was watching her with a sad lopsided smile. "Oh, don't look at me like that."

"Can't help it, doll. You're beautiful when you get like this. Here." He held out her glasses, which she took and put on. "Let's go inside. There's bound to be something that survived you might want to keep." She nodded and grabbed the doorknob. It twisted and opened easily, the hinges squealing a bit at the lack of use.

Inside was filthy, like anywhere else in the wasteland. A few low lights filled the place with a dull orange glow and the jukebox crooned out a song. Fay hurried over to the box, wiping dirt from the glass. "I can't believe this still works," she breathed, grinning as it allowed her to switch the song. Several lights were broken, making the rainbow effect a bit off, but the audio was still clear and strong. "I danced with my first boy here," she said, turning that grin to Hancock as he stood in the middle of the room, looking around, though her words caught his attention. "He was the most dashing thirteen year old ever, with this wonderful blonde hair and blue eyes. I was smitten."

"Should I be jealous?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder to scan the songs.

"No, but it's nice to remember. Though I do wonder how there's still power here." Fay moved away from that, taking in the peeling walls, shattered ceramics across the floor. But it still looked the way she remembered it. She froze when her eyes caught a large foot print in the dirt, leading behind the counter. It was huge, much bigger then either hers or Hancock's. "What the..." She followed it into the kitchen and farther into the storeroom. They disappeared into an enormous metal door. One that hadn't been here before the bombs fell. "John," she called out, moving to the starkly clean and well working terminal set up on one of the rusty shelves.

Hancock stepped in, frowning at the smooth, brand new steel door with its blinking keypad. "The hell is this?" He tried the handle and, of course, the thing didn't budge.

"I don't know," she said, failing to get a password through on the computer. "This was never here before. Someone is doing something in my family's diner that they really don't want anyone else seeing. And I'm going to find out." She failed again and cursed, slapping the keyboard. "I hate computers so much, fuck!"

"Move over. Let me see it." She stepped back as Hancock took over, squinting and typing away. She turned her attention to the number pad screwed into the thick frame. It too was clean, the lights shining behind the numbers brightly. With nothing else to do, she started trying random numbers. Her birthday, her mother's, her father's, her brother's. Getting annoyed, she lastly tried Shaun's and the thing let out a shrill beep, all the small lights flashing. A yelp escaped her as she jumped back to avoid being hit as the door swung open. Hancock cursed himself, shotgun in hand instantly. "How did you get that thing open?!"

"I put in Shaun's birthday," she hissed, grabbing onto his arm. "This is officially starting to creep me out, John. Who the fuck would even know that?!" Her heart was racing at the thought. Why would someone go through all the trouble of installing an enormous door in this diner and make the code to open it her son's birthday? The birthday of someone that was born before the bombs fell and no wasteland survivor should know other then herself. She let go of his arm and stepped through and started down the metal stairs inside, ignoring his grumbles as he followed. Down and down they went, going slowly to keep quiet. At the bottom was another door, already open into a massive room and it was filled with tech. Robots, power armor, massive servers and terminals, gadgets and parts littering tables spread around the place.

Fay crept in, running her fingers over a piece of power armor laying on a workbench, the Brotherhood of Steel mark painted on the side. Well, here are the missing suits, or what's left of them. The sound of typing drew her attention and she spotted a form in the farthest left corner of the room. They were hunched over a terminal, furiously typing away and completely ignorant of the intruders. Taking a chance, she stood and cleared her throat, calling out, "Hello?" A rather tarnished male voice let out a yell and whoever grabbed the laser pistol beside them, flipping around to point it at her. It was a ghoul, who had surprising clear, green eyes behind thick glasses. Ones that widened at the sight of her.

"No. NO! Yo-you're dead! They sent you, didn't they? How the fuck did they make you!" He screamed when she took a step closer, hands holding the pistol starting to shake violently. "Stay away from me!"

Fay stepped back, stiffening as Hancock stepped up with his shotgun pointed at the man. "I'm sorry," she said, gripping her braid as he started to hyperventilate. "Please, calm down. I-I didn't meant to break in. But this is my family's diner and this door sure as hell wasn't here before...everything. Who are you?"

"What, they didn't program that into your head, synth?" the ghoul spat, throwing his glasses to the table and aiming with steadier hands.

"I'm not a synth," she snapped and took a deep breath. "Tell me who you are, right now, or my friend here will load you full of buck shot. I have grounds to kill you for stealing all those suits of Brotherhood power armor alone, much less what you've done to this diner."

He barked out a laugh, running a hand over his scalp. "Yeah, fine. Why not. It's Elders. Paul Elders. Now tell me how the fuck you look just like my dead sister, you piece of shit!"

She felt her heart stop at his words. Sister? "P-Paul?" she breathed and leaned against the nearest table as he legs grew weak. "Oh god, is it really you?"

Hancock dropped his shotgun and grabbed her as she started to slide to the ground. "Shit, Fay, you pick the worst time to finally act like a flimsy prewar gal," he hissed, holding her to his side with one arm and snagged the pistol from her hip to aim at the ghoul claiming to be her brother. John glared at the man. "I don't know who any Paul Elders is, but this woman? She ain't no synth. So put your fucking gun away before I do something that might piss her off."

Paul dropped his pistol, sat down in his chair hard, and held a shaking hand to his head. "You called her Fay? How is that even possible?"

With still weak legs, she pulled away from Hancock, and went to him, standing a few feet away. "The vaults," she said, eyes wide as she looked at the scarred man before her. It was him. He had their mother's eyes, those striking sharp bottle green with the thick lashes and a terrible need for glasses. But unlike her nearsightedness, he was farsighted. She carefully picked up the glasses laying on the floor and placed them on the ruined stub of a nose, stepping back to take in the familiar but scarred face. "Because of Nate being a veteran, we were able to get into a vault," she said slowly, partially to keep from spooking him but also because she was still stunned. "It turned out that the main purpose of the vault was to test cryogenic stasis. We were all frozen for over 200 years. I've been out of that place for a few months now." Paul's eyes were crazed, tearing up. "It's me, Paul," she whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder, letting out a chocked laugh.

The poor man leaned up and wrapped his arms around her, sobbing into her chest. "Oh god! It really is you! I thought you were dead for so long, Fay. I've been so alone," he almost wailed, clinging to her tightly.

"Not anymore," she said, wrapping her own arms around him and sniffing as her own tears fell. "You're not alone."

* * *

 **Yeah. I know. Cliffhanger! But I hope to do a lot more with Paul later on. Just you wait and see! :D**


End file.
